Estimating population immunity to poliovirus in Jordan’s high-risk areas

A community-based serosurvey was conducted among children ages 6–59 to assess population immunity in Jordan’s high-risk areas following the Middle East polio outbreak response. The survey was a two-stage cluster-quota sample with high risk areas as the primary sampling units. High-risk areas included border and hard-to-reach areas, and areas with a high proportion of refugees, mobile communities and/or low coverage during previous immunization campaigns. Population immunity to poliovirus was high overall. In high-risk areas, Type 1 seroprevalence = 98% (95% CI = 96, 99), Type 2 = 98% (95% CI = 96, 99) and Type 3 = 96% (95% CI = 94, 98). Seroprevalence was higher in the refugee camps: Type 1 seroprevalence = 99.6% (95% CI = 97.9, 100); Type 2: 99.6% (95% CI = 97.9, 99.9), and Type 3: 100% (95% CI = 100,100). The vigilance that the Jordan Ministry of Health has placed on locating and vaccinating high-risk populations has been successful in maintaining high population immunity and averting polio outbreaks despite the influx of refugees from Syria

Persistence of Antibodies against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

To determine how long antibodies against Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus persist, we measured long-term antibody responses among persons serologically positive or indeterminate after a 2012 outbreak in Jordan. Antibodies, including neutralizing antibodies, were detectable in 6 (86%) of 7 persons for at least 34 months after the outbreak