Poliomyelitis-related case-fatality ratio in India, 2002-2006.

Background: On the basis of studies from developed countries, the case-fatality ratio (CFR) of poliomyelitis generally ranges from 2%-5% among children <5 years of age to 10%-30% among adults. However, little information is available for poliomyelitis-related CFR in developing countries. We conducted a study to determine the CFR in India, 1 of the 4 remaining countries with endemic wild poliovirus (WPV) circulation, during outbreaks of WPV infection during 2002 and 2006 and during the inter-epidemic years of 2003-2005.

Vaccine wastage in Bangladesh.

The Government of Bangladesh and WHO collaborated in a retrospective vaccine wastage study to estimate overall vaccine wastage rates from January to December 2004 for BCG, measles, DTP and TT. Researchers looked at vaccine distribution and usage patterns in randomly selected districts at both fixed (Upazila) and outreach (Ward) service delivery levels. Wastage was similar at both delivery levels but ranged widely among the sites.

Tracking the Prevalence of FAS.

Surveillance programs allow the tracking of the prevalence of a condition over time. Tracking the prevalence of FAS poses particular problems, however, as there is no "gold standard" of diagnosis. To evaluate the effectiveness of prevention efforts, surveillance techniques must be refined.