Australian National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory annual report, 2020

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Virology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Australia maintains polio-free status through the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in children under 15.
• Surveillance data is collected by the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit and the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance System.
• Faecal specimens are sent to the National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory for virological investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report on Australia's polio surveillance activities and outcomes in 2020.
• To assess the sensitivity of the Australian AFP surveillance system against WHO performance criteria.
• To identify non-polio enteroviruses circulating in children with AFP.

Main Methods:

• Clinical surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in children under 15 years of age.
• Virological investigation of faecal specimens from AFP cases.
• Monitoring of enterovirus and environmental surveillance data.

Main Results:

• No cases of poliomyelitis were reported in Australia in 2020.
• Australia reported 1.09 non-polio AFP cases per 100,000 children, meeting the WHO performance criterion.
• Coxsackievirus A10 and Coxsackievirus A16 were identified in clinical specimens from AFP cases.
• Globally, 140 wild poliovirus cases and 28 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks were reported in 2020.

Conclusions:

• Australia's surveillance system is sensitive and effectively monitors polio-free status.
• Non-polio enteroviruses continue to circulate and are detected through the AFP surveillance system.
• Continued global vigilance is necessary due to ongoing poliovirus circulation in endemic countries and vaccine-derived outbreaks.