[Characteristics of poliomyelitis viruses isolated from sewage]

Studies of the genetic markers of 39 (57.4%) strains of poliomyelitis virus type I isolated from sewage showed 7 of them to have genetic markers ret+40, Gu+, A+, Ag+ (Mahoney, Koñkov), 3 to be ret+40, Gu+, A+, Ag+ (Koñkov, Sabin), and 10 to be ret+40, Gu-, A-, Ag- (LSc 2ab). Among 20 (29.4%) strains of poliovirus type II two were ret+40, Gu+, A+, N+, Ag+ (MEF-1), and 2 were ret-40, Gu-, A-, N-, Ag- (P712 Ch2ab), and among 9 (15.2%) strains of type III only one (Saukett) had the genetic markers ret+40, Gu+, A+, Ag+. In the other 43 poliovirus strains under study the genetic markers did not correlate with each other. The possibility of using counter immunoelectrophoresis alongside with gel precipitation test for the study of antigenic intratype differences of polioviruses was demonstrated.