OPV

Whole plant cells producing viral capsid protein as a poliovirus vaccine candidate

Basic virology, Information / By

Although the use of the live, attenuated (Sabin) poliovirus vaccines has been instrumental in nearly eradicating the virus from the planet, the rare reversion to virulence of these strains has lead to the World Health Organization to recommend their replacement with inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV). Unfortunately IPV is also not without shortcomings, including high cost, failure …

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From trivalent to bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine

Basic virology, Information / By

For the first time since April of 1955, recipients of poliovirus vaccine will no longer receive all three serotypes. This past Sunday the World Health Organization orchestrated a synchronized switch from trivalent to bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) in 150 countries. The reason for the switch is clear: type 2 poliovirus was declared eradicated last year, and the …

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The switch from trivalent to bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine: Will it lead to polio?

4 Comments / Basic virology, Information / By

In four months, 155 countries will together switch from using trivalent to bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine. Will this change lead to more cases of poliomyelitis? There are three serotypes of poliovirus, each of which can cause paralytic poliomyelitis. The Sabin oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV), which has been used globally by WHO in the eradication effort, is …

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TWiV 371: Sympathy for the devil

This Week in Virology / By

On episode #371 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiVologists discuss the finding of a second transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils, and development of new poliovirus strains for the production of inactivated vaccine in the post-eradication era. You can find TWiV #371 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

Virologists, start your poliovirus destruction!

16 Comments / Basic virology, Commentary, Information / By

I have worked on poliovirus for over thirty-six years, first as a posdoctoral fellow with David Baltimore in 1979, and then in my laboratory at Columbia University. The end of that research commences this year with the destruction of my stocks of polioviruses. In 2015 there were 70 reported cases of poliomyelitis caused by wild …

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Why do we still use Sabin poliovirus vaccine?

26 Comments / Basic virology, Information / By

The Sabin infectious, attenuated poliovirus vaccines are known to cause vaccine-associated paralysis in a small number of recipients. In contrast, the Salk inactivated vaccine does not cause poliomyelitis. Why are the Sabin vaccines still used globally? The answer to this question requires a brief visit to the history of poliovirus vaccines. The inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) developed by …

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