Summaryobjectives To evaluate oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) coverage of the November 2009 round in five Northern Nigeria states with ongoing wild poliovirus transmission using clustered lot quality assurance sampling (CLQAS).methods We selected four local government areas in each pre-selected state and sampled six clusters of 10 children in each Local Government Area, defined as the lot area. We used three decision thresholds to classify OPV coverage: 75-90%, 55-70% and 35-50%. A full lot was completed, but we also assessed in retrospect the potential time-saving benefits of stopping sampling when a lot had been classified.results We accepted two local government areas (LGAs) with vaccination coverage above 75%. Of the remaining 18 rejected LGAs, 11 also failed to reach 70% coverage, of which four also failed to reach 50%. The average time taken to complete a lot was 10 h. By stopping sampling when a decision was reached, we could have classified lots in 5.3, 7.7 and 7.3 h on average at the 90%, 70% and 50% coverage targets, respectively.conclusions Clustered lot quality assurance sampling was feasible and useful to estimate OPV coverage in Northern Nigeria. The multi-threshold approach provided useful information on the variation of IPD vaccination coverage. CLQAS is a very timely tool, allowing corrective actions to be directly taken in insufficiently covered areas.

Suboptimal routine coverage and the wide interval between the catch-up and follow-up campaigns likely led to an accumulation of children susceptible to measles.

During the period 2001-2008, 48748253 women of childbearing age were vaccinated in the region of the Americas, 39542253 (81%) of whom were vaccinated in the 6 selected countries. Of these women, 30139 (0.07%) were pregnant or became pregnant ≤1 month after receiving vaccine and were followed up. On the basis of serological evaluation, 2894 (10%) women were classified as susceptible at the time of vaccination; of their pregnancies, 1980 (90%) resulted in a live birth. Sera from 70 (3.5%) of these infants were rubella IgM antibody positive, but none of the infants had features of CRS as a result of rubella vaccination. The maximum theoretical risk for CRS following rubella vaccination of susceptible pregnant women was 0.2%. Conclusions. The results of these studies from 6 select countries provides additional evidence showing an absence of risk of CRS associated with administering rubella vaccine shortly before or during pregnancy.

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Background. Remarkable progress had been made since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. However endemic wild poliovirus transmission in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan remains an issue of international concern. Poor microplanning has been identified as a major contributor to the high numbers of chronically missed children.Methods. We assessed the contribution of the revised household-based microplanning process implemented in Kano State from September 2013 to April 2014 to the outcomes of subsequent polio supplemental immunization activities using used preselected planning and outcome indicators.Results. There was a 38% increase in the number of settlements enumerated, a 30% reduction in the number of target households, and a 54% reduction in target children. The reported number of children vaccinated and the doses of oral polio vaccine used during subsequent polio supplemental immunization activities showed a decline. Postvaccination lot quality assurance sampling and chronically missed settlement reports also showed a progressive reduction in the number of children and settlements missed.Conclusions. We observed improvement in Kano State's performance based on the selected postcampaign performance evaluation indicators and reliability of baseline demographic estimates after the revised household-based microplanning exercise.