Seroprevalence of poliovirus antibodies among 7-month-old infants after 4 doses of oral polio vaccine in Sistan-va-Baluchestan, Islamic Republic of Iran

Despite high coverage rates of polio vaccine in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the seroconversion rates of infants may be inadequate. This study measured seroprevalence of antibodies against poliovirus serotypes 1 to 3 [PV1, PV2 and PV3] in 7-month-old infants who had received at least 4 doses of trivalent oral polio vaccine. A serosurvey was conducted in 2010 in rural areas of Chabahar, Sistan-va-Baluchestan province. Using cluster sampling, 72 eligible infants were tested for antibody against the 3 poliovirus serotypes according to WHO guidelines. Antibody titres >/= 1:10 were considered positive. The seropositive rates for antibody against PV1, PV2 and PV3 were 84.7%, 95.8% and 70.8% respectively. Only 63.9% of participants were seropositive for antibodies against all 3 poliovirus serotypes. Except for PV2, the seroprevalence of antibody against the other 2 poliovirus serotypes, especially PV3, was unsatisfactory

Risk of polio reintroduction to border regions of Islamic Republic of Iran: seroprevalence study of children with at least 5 doses of oral polio vaccine

Movements of populations from countries where polio has not been eradicated is a concern in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A cross-sectional, community-based study was implemented in 2010 in 2 districts in Sistan-va-Baluchestan Province near the south-east border. The aim was to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies in children aged 20 [+/

comparative analysis of routine techniques: Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] and five cell lines for detection of enteroviruses in stool specimens

Each year, Enteroviruses infect millions of people and cause different diseases. The agents are usually detected using cell culture. RD [Rhabdomyosarcoma] and L20B [L cells] are among the recommended cells by the World Health Organisation [WHO] for this purpose. Even though cell culture is the most common method used in diagnosing Enteroviruses in stool specimens, this particular method poses some problems, which include false positive or negative results, lack of a unique cell line for diagnosing all Entero virus types in addition to being time consuming. For these reasons, an attempt was made to find better techniques of Entero virus detection. RT-PCR [Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction] is a technique used in place of the cell culture method. In this study, the cell culture method was compared with RT-PCR for detection of Enteroviruses in stool specimens. First, the chloroform treated stool samples were inoculated onto five cell lines, including RD, L20B, Hep-2 [Human Epidermoid carcinoma cell line], Vero [Verde Reno] and GMK [Green Monkey Kidney]. The results were then compared with data from Entero virus detection using the RT-PCR technique. The difference between RT-PCR and cell culture results was significant. Enteroviruses were detected in 24% of specimens using RT-PCR while cell lines could isolate Enteroviruses in just 14.4% of the samples