Poliovirus-Neutralizing Antibody Seroprevalence and Vaccine Habits in a Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Outbreak Region in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2018: The Impact on the Global Eradication Initiative
Megan Halbrook,
Adva Gadoth,
Patrick Mukadi,
Nicole A. Hoff,
Kamy Musene,
Camille Dzogang,
Cyrus Shannon Sinai,
D’Andre Spencer,
Guillaume Ngoie-Mwamba,
Sylvia Tangney,
Frank Salet,
Michel Nyembwe,
Michel Kambamba Nzaji,
Merly Tambu,
Placide Mbala,
Trevon Fuller,
Sue K. Gerber,
Didine Kaba,
Jean Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum,
Anne W. Rimoin
Affiliations
Megan Halbrook
Department of Epidemiology, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Adva Gadoth
Department of Epidemiology, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Patrick Mukadi
National Institute of Biomedical Research, Kinshasa P.O. Box 1197, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nicole A. Hoff
Department of Epidemiology, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Kamy Musene
Department of Epidemiology, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Camille Dzogang
National Institute of Biomedical Research, Kinshasa P.O. Box 1197, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cyrus Shannon Sinai
Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, USA
D’Andre Spencer
Children’s National Research Institute, Center for Genetic Medicine Research, 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010, USA
Guillaume Ngoie-Mwamba
Expanded Programme for Immunization, Kinshasa P.O. Box 1197, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sylvia Tangney
Department of Epidemiology, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Frank Salet
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
Michel Nyembwe
Expanded Programme for Immunization, Kinshasa P.O. Box 1197, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Michel Kambamba Nzaji
Expanded Programme for Immunization, Kinshasa P.O. Box 1197, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Merly Tambu
National Institute of Biomedical Research, Kinshasa P.O. Box 1197, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Placide Mbala
National Institute of Biomedical Research, Kinshasa P.O. Box 1197, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Trevon Fuller
Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Sue K. Gerber
Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Didine Kaba
Kinshasa School of Public Health, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 11850, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Jean Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum
National Institute of Biomedical Research, Kinshasa P.O. Box 1197, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Anne W. Rimoin
Department of Epidemiology, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Despite the successes in wild-type polio eradication, poor vaccine coverage in the DRC has led to the occurrence of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks. This cross-sectional population-based survey provides an update to previous poliovirus-neutralizing antibody seroprevalence studies in the DRC and quantifies risk factors for under-immunization and parental knowledge that guide vaccine decision making. Among the 964 children between 6 and 35 months in our survey, 43.8% (95% CI: 40.6–47.0%), 41.1% (38.0–44.2%), and 38.0% (34.9–41.0%) had protective neutralizing titers to polio types 1, 2, and 3, respectively. We found that 60.7% of parents reported knowing about polio, yet 25.6% reported knowing how it spreads. Our data supported the conclusion that polio outreach efforts were successfully connecting with communities—79.4% of participants had someone come to their home with information about polio, and 88.5% had heard of a polio vaccination campaign. Additionally, the odds of seroreactivity to only serotype 2 were far greater in health zones that had a history of supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) compared to health zones that did not. While SIAs may be reaching under-vaccinated communities as a whole, these results are a continuation of the downward trend of seroprevalence rates in this region.
