A quantitative survey of the literature on poliovirus infection and immunity

To examine forces that drive vaccination policy to eradicate wild- and vaccine-derived poliovirus, and to focus on the efficacy of vaccines to support decision-making and further research.

We searched PubMed and Ovid databases for English-language publications, without date restrictions. We also collected references from major reviews on polio vaccine immunogenicity or protection. We conducted a meta-analysis of human immunity to polio infections using multiple non-linear regression, and built a database from a broad (but not systematic) set of polio vaccine studies (46 studies, >10000 subjects).

The outcome was an immunological model representative of many different datasets. Parameters measured immunogenicity to both humoral and mucosal immune compartments for Salk and Sabin vaccines. The immunity model was more highly correlated with the data than a simpler per-dose efficacy model.

The model offers new insights for immunization policy. We measured the mucosal immunogenicity of IPV to a precision that is useful in decision-making for end-game polio immunization policies.