Poliovirus vaccine shedding among persons with HIV in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

As polio eradication nears, the development of immunization policies for an era without the disease has become increasingly important. Outbreaks due to circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) and rare cases of immunodeficient persons with prolonged VDPV shedding lend to the growing consensus that oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) use should be discontinued as soon after polio eradication as possible. The present study was conducted to assess whether persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) experience prolonged VDPV shedding and serve as a source of reintroduction of virus into the population.

Adults infected with HIV had specimens tested (1) 8 months after a mass OPV campaign, to determine whether poliovirus related to OPV administered during the campaign was present (i.e., prolonged excretion), and (2) starting 7 weeks after a subsequent campaign, to determine whether poliovirus could be detected after the height of OPV exposure.

A total of 419 participants were enrolled--315 during the 8-12 months after an OPV campaign held in 2001 and 104 during the 7-13 weeks after a 2002 campaign. No poliovirus was isolated from any participants.

It appears unlikely that adults infected with HIV experience prolonged vaccine virus shedding, and, therefore, they probably represent a minimal risk of reintroducing vaccine virus into the population after poliovirus has been eradicated.