Role
The Polio Expert Panel (PEP) has an ongoing role to:
- review and classify all reported cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) as
- non-polio AFP
- AFP with more information required
- polio compatible AFP
- poliomyelitis
- non AFP
- advise on poliomyelitis surveillance, prevention and eradication.
Members
| Member | Background and experience |
|---|---|
| Associate Professor Philip Britton (Chair) | Paediatric Active Enhanced Diseases Surveillance representative – Kids Research Institute, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW |
| Dr Shopna Bag | Public health physician – Director, Public Health Medicine, Centre for Population Health, Western Sydney Local Health District, Parramatta, NSW |
| Dr Anne Morris | Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit representative – The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW |
| Professor John Pearn | Paediatrician – Emeritus Professor, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital, Herston, Qld |
| Dr Eppie Yiu | Paediatric neurologist – Neurology Department, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, Vic |
| Associate Professor Bruce Thorley | Virologist – Director, National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory, VIDRL, The Doherty Institute, Melbourne, Vic |
| Dr Sarah Allen | Paediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist, Department of Immigrant Health/General Paediatrics, royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, Vic |
| Ms Linda Hobday (Secretariat) | National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory, VIDRL, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Vic |
Meetings
The PEP meets:
- every 2 months by teleconference to review Australian AFP cases
- annually face-to-face to review the performance AFP surveillance systems.
The PEP convenes on an ad hoc basis where there is a suspected case of poliomyelitis in Australia.
Related committees or groups
The National AFP Surveillance Coordinator tasks the PEP to review and classify AFP cases reported by the:
The PEP is a subcommittee Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) of the reports to the:
- CDNA
- Australian Government Department of Health
- World Health Organization (WHO).
Contact
Polio Expert Panel secretariat
Contact the secretariat for the Polio Expert Panel (PEP) secretariat for further information on the committee or previous meeting minutes and agendas.
Date last updated: