Paralytic poliomyelitis and nonpolio enteroviruses: studies in Scotland

Poliomyelitis has been well controlled in Scotland by vaccination. Occasional cases of paralysis still occur in association with enteroviruses, especially coxsackieviruses. Most cases were attributable to coxsackievirus A7, which was identified in 77 cases, 12 of them paralytic (one fatal), from 1956 to 1973 (including outbreaks in 1959 and 1963) but not since then. Serologic findings suggesting poliovirus infection have been obtained in several paralytic illnesses at a late stage, months after acute illnesses in which the possibility of poliomyelitis was not considered by physicians, who no longer expect to encounter cases of poliomyelitis.