Incidence Rates of Poliomyelitis in US

 Incidence Rates of Poliomyelitis in Other Countries

SOURCE: CDC's Summary of Notifiable Diseases – United States, 2003,
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), Vol. 52, No. 54, Published April 22, 2005.

Data from the MMWR are dependent on many factors. Severe cases are more likely to be reported. The completeness of reporting can be affected by public awareness, resources and priorities of state and local officials, and the availability of diagnostic testing and diagnostic facilities.

In the United States, data is reported in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), Summary of Notifiable Diseases. Data from the MMWR are dependent on many factors. Severe cases are more likely to be reported. The completeness of reporting can be affected by public awareness, resources and priorities of state and local officials, and the availability of diagnostic testing and diagnostic facilities.

Another source of data for determining the number of survivors of polio in the United States is the information gathered as part of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The NHIS is a continuously conducted survey of a nationally representative sample of the civilian, non-institutionalized population. It covers a broad range of health-related topics through personal interviews in the home. Interviews are conducted by specially trained interviewers employed by the Bureau of the Census.

The NHIS uses two questionnaires each year. The first is a basic health and demographic questionnaire. The second is a special questionnaire on current health topics.

In 1987, a special questionnaire was designed to collect information from polio survivors. Researchers were surprised to identify 821 polio survivors. Based on the 1987 sample size, the estimate of polio survivors in the United States was 1.6 million. The estimate of 640,000 paralytic polio survivors was much higher than previous national estimates. Researchers expressed a lack of confidence in the number because the data are self-reported and nonparalytic polio was often not diagnosed or misdiagnosed.

To validate the number, the 1994-1995 NHIS disability survey screened 200,000 persons in Phase I, and then went back to about 40,000 people including people who were identified as polio survivors (Phase II). The 1994-1995 survey identified 445 polio survivors and, based on this sample size, the estimate of polio survivors in the United States is 1,000,000 with 433,000 reporting as paralytic polio survivors.

A comprehensive Polio Survivor Questionnaire was included in the Phase II survey. Survivors were asked questions about their acute poliomyelitis and the rehabilitation period, their period of physical best, and their present physical condition.

A copy of the questionnaire can be viewed at www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_199acc.pdf (pages 407-428)

NCHS has posted the 1994-9 NHIS-D, phase 2 Polio data file on the web for public use:

Public-use Data Files (Micro-data)
Downloadable data files via ftp
1994-95 Polio data

Downloadable documentation via ftp
1994-95 Polio data
Descriptions

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