| Abstract: | The frequency of vaccine poliovirus isolation from children aged under 3 years was studied in Belarus, a country with a high level of immunization against poliomyelitis. Antigenic and genetic characteristics of the isolated strains were studied. Vaccine poliovirus detection rate was high (11.8%). Polioviruses were isolated from children immunized recently (27.2%), immunized more than 2 months before (7.5%), and from non-immunized children (9.8%). An appreciable number (36.1%) of the isolated strains were antigenically and/or genetically modified derivatives of Sabin virus. Epidemiological data and genetic characteristics of the isolated polioviruses indicate that some of them can be sufficiently transmissive for maintaining their "silent" circulation even in a population with a high level of immunization. |
