BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES The poliovirus serotype identification and intratypic differentiation by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay is suitable for serotype mixtures but not for intratypic mixtures of wild and vaccine poliovirus strains. This study was undertaken to develop wild poliovirus 1 and 3 (WPV1 and WPV3) specific rRT-PCR assays for use. METHODS ...

BACKGROUND Mucosal immunity induced by oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) is imperfect and potentially allows immunized individuals to participate in asymptomatic wild-type poliovirus transmission in settings with efficient fecal-oral transmission of infection. METHODS We examined the extent of asymptomatic wild-type poliovirus transmission in India by measuring the prevalence of virus in stool sa...

For Australia to be declared polio free, evidence of the absence of circulation of wild poliovirus was required by the Regional Commission for the Certification of Eradication of Poliomyelitis in the Western Pacific in August 2000. Data on surveillance of poliomyelitis, acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), vaccine associated paralytic polio and enteroviruses were provided to document the absence of c...

Eradication of poliomyelitis from large metropolis cities in India has been difficult due to high population density and the presence of large urban slums. Three paralytic poliomyelitis cases were reported in Mumbai, India, in 1999 and 2000 in spite of high immunization coverage and good-quality supplementary immunization activities. We therefore established a systematic environmental surveilla...

Acute flaccid paralysis is the main clinical manifestation of poliomyelitis. Faecal specimens from cases of acute flaccid paralysis in Australia are referred to the National Poliovirus Reference Laboratory for virus culture to determine if poliovirus is the causative agent. Isolations of poliovirus are tested to determine whether they have characteristics of the Sabin oral polio vaccine virus s...

Described in detail is the molecular epidemiology of wild-type 1 poliovirus circulation in Ghana between 1995-2008, following the implementation of a surveillance system for cases of acute flaccid paralysis and poliovirus infection. Molecular phylogenetic analysis combined with a detailed evaluation of epidemiological indicators revealed that the geographical and temporal circulation of wild-ty...

Systematic environmental surveillance for poliovirus circulation has been conducted in Egypt since 2000. The surveillance has revealed three independent importations of wild-type poliovirus. In addition, several vaccine-derived polioviruses have been detected in various locations in Egypt. In addition to acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, environmental surveillance can be used to monit...

Indigenous wild poliovirus was last isolated in China in 1994. On October 13, 1999, a case of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in a 16-month-old boy was reported to public health authorities in Xunhua Autonomous County, Haidong Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Following onset of paralysis on October 12, the boy was no longer able to stand or walk. Two stool samples, taken within 14 days of ons...