ISOLATION OF POLIOMYELITIS VIRUS FROM THE NASOPHARYNX

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Poliomyelitis remains a significant public health concern, necessitating effective diagnostic methods.
• Understanding poliovirus shedding and detection in non-paralytic cases is crucial for transmission control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the successful isolation of poliovirus from a nasopharyngeal sample in a case of suspected abortive poliomyelitis.
• To evaluate the efficiency of different methods for poliovirus detection in clinical specimens.
• To assess the infectivity of poliovirus isolates from mild cases in non-human primates.

Main Methods:

• Poliovirus isolation from nasopharyngeal swabs using three distinct laboratory techniques.
• Virus detection in multiple suspected cases and their contacts.
• Inoculation of primate models with clinical isolates to determine infectivity.

Main Results:

• Poliovirus was successfully recovered from the nasopharynx of one individual with mild illness using three methods.
• Virus was not detected in twenty-six other suspected cases or fourteen contacts.
• The isolate from the mild case demonstrated high infectivity in monkeys, exceeding that of many isolates from fatal cases.

Conclusions:

• Nasopharyngeal swabbing can be an effective method for poliovirus detection, even in mild, non-paralytic cases.
• Glycerin preservation of throat washing sediment proved efficient for poliovirus isolation for at least 101 days.
• Further research is needed to understand the high infectivity of isolates from mild poliomyelitis cases.