Level of immune response to polio vaccines among fully vaccinated children aged 1-10 years in Maniema and Ituri provinces, Democratic Republic of Congo : a cross- sectional survey

Abstract Introduction: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) bears a great number of cases of poliovirus. The study aimed to assess the level of immune response to polio vaccines among fully vaccinated children aged 1–10 yeas. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in two provinces of the DRC and included 348 children. Results The mean age was 4.7years ± 2.7 and the median age was 5 years with extremes of 1 to 10 years. The vaccine failure rate was 56.9% for girls and 43.1% for boys. This rate was 59.3% in the Maniema site and 53.5% in the Ituri site. The difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.278). Considering the age groups, the vaccination failure rate was respectively 59.4% in children aged between 5 and 54.5% in those under 5 years of age. There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.354). Conclusion This study showed a significant rate of vaccine failure among fully vaccinated children. This result requires further studies to investigate the factors associated with this failure.