African Field Epidemiology Network, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria.
World Health Organization, Country Office, Abuja, Nigeria.
Pan Afr Med J. 2023 Sep 7;45(Suppl 2):10. doi: 10.11604/pamj.supp.2023.45.2.38261. eCollection 2023.
following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic to Nigeria, the Federal Government of Nigeria restricted human and vehicular movements to curb the spread of the disease. This action had a negative impact on Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance, with a resultant reduction in the number of AFP cases reported. This paper describes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on poliovirus surveillance in Nigeria and the proactive interventions by Nigeria´s polio program to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on polio surveillance.
nine innovative strategies were implemented in all 774 Local Government Areas (LGA) of the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of the country. These strategies were developed by the national surveillance officers and operationalized by sub-national surveillance officers with different strategies starting at different epidemiological weeks from week 14 to 23, 2020. Many of the strategy innovations were technology-based and included: the use of mobile phones to send the AFP case definition and video by WhatsApp or by SMS, the use of state-specific toll-free numbers and Mobile Telephone Network (MTN) (mobile service provider) CallerfeelTM to community informants (CI) who were the main targets of the interventions to increase case detection and reporting. Others included the use of abridged e-surveillance integrated supportive supervision (ISS) checklists, virtual monthly DSNO meetings, and batched AFP stool specimen transportation network.
compared to the same period in 2019, the cumulative rate of AFP case detection and reporting had gradually declined from 39.1% in January to 16.7% before the commencement of the interventions in week 20, 2020. However, the detection and reporting increased by 57.% from week 20 to week 47 compared to the same period in 2019. This is because with COVID-19, hospital visitation dropped, and the sick remained in the communities, so the CI network was relied on to detect and report AFP cases. The cumulative proportion of AFP cases reported by community informants as of week 47 increased from 13% in 2018 to 21% in 2020. This indicates an increase of 38%. Thirty-five AFP cases were detected and reported using the MTN Caller Feel strategy, while 15 cases were reported through state-specific toll-free numbers.
the implementation of the innovative strategies was able to mitigate the low AFP case detection and reporting observed at the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of technology facilitated reaching the CI network, which was more instrumental in detecting and reporting the cases.
随着 COVID-19 疫情在尼日利亚的蔓延，尼日利亚联邦政府限制了人员和车辆的流动，以遏制疾病的传播。这一行动对急性弛缓性麻痹（AFP）监测产生了负面影响，导致报告的 AFP 病例数量减少。本文描述了 COVID-19 大流行对尼日利亚脊髓灰质炎病毒监测的影响，以及尼日利亚脊髓灰质炎规划为减轻 COVID-19 对脊髓灰质炎监测的影响而采取的主动干预措施。
在该国 36 个州和联邦首都地区（FCT）的 774 个地方政府地区（LGA）实施了 9 项创新战略。这些战略是由国家监测官员制定的，并由国家以下监测官员实施，不同的战略从 2020 年第 14 周至第 23 周开始实施。许多战略创新都是基于技术的，包括：使用手机通过 WhatsApp 或短信发送 AFP 病例定义和视频，使用州特定的免费电话号码和移动电话网络（MTN）CallerfeelTM 向社区线人（CI）发送信息，社区线人是干预措施的主要目标，以提高病例发现和报告率。其他措施包括使用简化的电子监测综合支持性监督（ISS）检查表、虚拟的每月 DSNO 会议和分批 AFP 粪便标本运输网络。
与 2019 年同期相比，AFP 病例的累计发现和报告率从 1 月的 39.1%逐渐下降到 2020 年第 20 周干预前的 16.7%。然而，与 2019 年同期相比，第 20 周至第 47 周的发现和报告率增加了 57%。这是因为 COVID-19 期间，医院就诊量下降，病人留在社区，因此依赖社区线人网络来发现和报告 AFP 病例。截至第 47 周，社区线人报告的 AFP 病例累计比例从 2018 年的 13%增加到 2020 年的 21%。这表明增加了 38%。使用 MTN Caller Feel 策略发现和报告了 35 例 AFP 病例，而使用州特定免费电话号码报告了 15 例病例。
实施创新战略能够减轻 COVID-19 大流行初期观察到的 AFP 病例低发现和报告率。技术的使用促进了与社区线人网络的联系，这对线人网络发现和报告病例更有帮助。
