Plaque And Growth Characteristics Of Different Polioviruses Isolated From Acute Flaccid Paralysis In Northern Nigeria

Objective: To determine some virulent trait-related properties of poliovirus isolates from children with acute flaccid paralysis following vaccination with oral polio vaccine (OPV). Design: Six polioviruses earlier characterised into wild, vaccine-derived and OPV-like were studied using the plaque morphology and growth kinetics at supra-optimal temperature. Setting: Department of Virology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Subjects: Polio isolates from six children who developed acute flaccid paralysis following vaccinations with various doses of OPV were used. All the children were located in the Northern part of the country where poliovirus is still circulating. Main outcome measures: The two vaccine-derived polioviruses acquired wild type characteristics. Results: All the six poliovirus isolates developed different forms of plaques ranging from tiny, small and large. The plaque formed could however not be used to identify the different isolates. Growth of the different isolates at supra-optimal temperature showed that the three wild polioviruses grew to a higher titre when compared with the Sabin 2 control. The two vaccine derived isolates behaved like the wild poliovirus while the OPV-like virus acquired an intermediate characteristics between wild and sabin. Conclusion: The wild polioviruses represented in this study are among the last vestiges of the circulating polioviruses found in the world. It is possible that the observed biological properties of wild types 1 and 3 described in the study are typical of the West African polioviruses. These properties will provide useful previews to the final identification of some important clinical isolates especially type 1 which may grow rapidly in cell culture. East African Medical Journal Vol. 85 (3) 2008: pp. 137-14