Australian National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory annual report, 2015

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Virology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Australia monitors children under 15 for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) to maintain polio-free status, as per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
• Surveillance involves notifying cases to specialized units and referring specimens for virological investigation.
• Global efforts are nearing polio eradication, with only two endemic countries remaining in 2015.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report on Australia's acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance and polio status in 2015.
• To assess the sensitivity of the surveillance system against WHO performance criteria.
• To identify circulating enteroviruses and polioviruses in clinical and environmental samples.

Main Methods:

• Clinical surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases in children under 15.
• Virological investigation of faecal specimens by the National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory.
• Enterovirus and environmental surveillance for poliovirus in sewage samples.

Main Results:

• No cases of poliomyelitis were reported in Australia in 2015.
• Australia reported 1.2 non-polio AFP cases per 100,000 children, meeting WHO sensitivity criteria.
• Two non-polio enteroviruses (enterovirus A71, coxsackievirus B3) and two Sabin-like polioviruses were identified.

Conclusions:

• Australia's surveillance system effectively monitors its polio-free status.
• The presence of Sabin-like polioviruses in sewage indicates importation from oral polio vaccine-using countries.
• Global wild poliovirus cases reached a historic low in 2015, highlighting progress in eradication efforts.