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Poliomyelitis, Paralytic
1990 Case Definition

Poliomyelitis, Paralytic
1990 Case Definition
NOTE: A surveillance case definition is a set of uniform criteria used to define a disease for public health surveillance. Surveillance case definitions enable public health officials to classify and count cases consistently across reporting jurisdictions. Surveillance case definitions are not intended to be used by healthcare providers for making a clinical diagnosis or determining how to meet an individual patient’s health needs.

Clinical Description

Acute onset of a flaccid paralysis of one or more limbs with decreased or absent tendon reflexes in the affected limbs, without other apparent cause, and without sensory or cognitive loss (as reported by a physician)

Case Classification

Probable

A case that meets the clinical case definition

Confirmed

A case that meets the clinical case definition and in which the patient has a neurologic deficit 60 days after onset of initial symptoms, has died, or has unknown follow-up status

Comments

All suspected cases of paralytic poliomyelitis are reviewed by a panel of expert consultants before final classification occurs. Only confirmed cases are included in Table I in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Suspected cases are enumerated in a footnote to the MMWR table.

Related Case Definition(s)

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Content Source:
Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology

National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)

NNDSS receives and shares case data from state, local, and territorial health departments to help public health monitor, control, and prevent serious diseases.

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