Prevalence of residual polio paralysis in children of 5-15 years age group in Ajmer City.

PIP: This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of residual poliomyelitis paralysis in children 5-15 years of age in Ajmer City, Rajasthan, India. Household interviews focused on 6000 randomly selected children (3 clusters of 2000 children each). Epidemiologic information was obtained and a physical examination was performed to determine the presence of lameness (defined as not being able to walk properly or having 1 leg shorter than the other). Of the 148 children identified as having some type of orthopedic or neurologic defect, 104 had been affected by poliomyelitis. The overall prevalence of lame children was 17.3/1000, with the highest prevalence (89.55/1000) in children 5 years of age. There was a significantly higher prevalence rate of polio paralysis in males (21.15/1000) than females (13.06/1000). 69% of the children had been affected by poliomyelitis below the age of 3 years and 92% had been affected below the age of 5 years. 46% of affected children were of the 1st or 2nd birth order. Paralytic cases were most frequent in children from social class I, but social class differences were not significant. Of the 6000 children surveyed, only 1162 (19.36%) had received oral polio vaccine. Among children affected by residual polio paralysis, only 12 (11.52%) had been vaccinated prior to the onset of disease and none of these children had received the full course of vaccine. These findings indicate that poliomyelitis is a major contributor to disease in children under 5 years of age in India and underscore the need for adherence to the complete schedule of polio immunization.^ieng