Chumakov Institute for Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalites; WHO Collaborating Center for Poliomyelitis and Enteroviruses; Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow; Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Omsk region, Omsk, Russia
Ability to test sewage water for surveillance on circulation of polioviruses was assessed. Stool samples from children living in orphanage for younger children were collected monthly. Simultaneously, samples of sewage water from orphanage’s collector and community collector, in which sewage from neighborhood dwellings is dumped, were collected by snap sample and sorption methods. Rate of isolation of polio— and nonpolioenteroviruses (NPEV) from stool samples for 6 months was 44%; rate of isolation from sewage water for the same period was 79% for sorption method and 50% for snap sample method. Between viruses circulating in orphanage, NPEV of different serotypes predominated (99 isolates out of 170). Domination of polioviruses in isolates from sewage samples obtained by sorption method (23 strains out of 32) can be associated with properties of the sorbent. Number of poliovirus strains and NPEV isolated by snap sample method was equal. Season fluctuations in proportion of stool and sewage samples containing viruses coincided. Comparison of efficacy of the methods during total study period (14 samplings) did not reveal significant difference in rate of virus isolation (in orphanage’s collector — 72% and 50% for sorption and snap sample collection methods respectively; in community collector — 31% for both methods). Detection of type 1 poliovirus with changed antigenic properties in one stool sample and one sewage water sample argue for possibility to detect in sewage minor quantity of virus excreting by one person. Thus testing of sewage water provides information on viruses circulating in the community of children. Study of stool samples revealed high rate of poliovirus isolation (up to 32%) including nonvaccinated children.
Zh. Mikrobiol. (Moscow), 2009, No. 1, P. 12—16