Poliovirus silently (and not so silently) spreads

Poliovirus has been found in sewage in Israel. The virus detected is not vaccine-derived poliovirus; it is wild-type 1 poliovirus, the strain that occurs naturally in the wild and which the World Health Organization is trying very hard to eradicate from the planet. As part of the global effort to eradicate poliovirus, environmental samples from many countries are routinely examined for the presence of the virus. Wild type poliovirus was detected in 30 sewage sample from 10 different sites, collected from 3 February to 30 June 2013 in Israel. No cases of paralytic disease have been detected in that country. This is not a surprising finding because only roughly one in 100 individuals infected with poliovirus develop paralysis. During poliovirus infection, the virus replicates in the gastrointestinal tract and is shed in the feces. Most of the poliovirus-positive sewage samples were from southern Israel. Finding the virus at multiple sites suggests that the virus has been in the population for an extended period of time and that multiple individuals are shedding virus. Why is wild type virus circulating in Israel? Poliovirus vaccine coverage in Israel is high but it is never 100%, and non-immunized individuals are hosts for the virus. Another explanation is related the the use of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) in Israel. Immunization with IPV, which is administered intramuscularly, does not protect the alimentary tract from infection. Therefore poliovirus can replicate in...
Source: virology blog - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Basic virology Information Egypt Israel pakistan paralysis polio poliomyelitis poliovirus Sabin vaccine viral wild type Source Type: blogs