Poliomyelitis is a severe infection of the Central Nervous System, which primarily affects the spinal cord neurons and can lead to paralysis and death.
The infection is caused by three types of Poliovirus (1, 2
Poliomyelitis is a severe infection of the Central Nervous System, which primarily affects the spinal cord neurons and can lead to paralysis and death.
The infection is caused by three types of Poliovirus (1, 2 and 3), belonging to the Enterovirus genus.
The infection can occur by fecal-oral route, by ingesting contaminated water or food, or saliva and droplets emitted by sick people during coughing and sneezing.
In more than 90% of the infections, the patient does not suffer any symptoms; in the remaining cases, the symptoms are fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and sore throat; very rarely the paralysis is seen.
There exists no treatment of the disease, only symptomatic therapy, which can partially reduce the effects of the infection, and prevention measures through vaccination.
In many Asiatic countries poliomyelitis is still endemic, but WHO has started ambitious projects to eradicate the disease.
The diagnosis of poliomyelitis can be performed by isolation and detection of the virus or by determination of antibodies in the blood using neutralization tests and, more recently, ELISA technique.
The detection, in the tested sample, of IgG class antibodies against the three types of Poliovirus can be due to a previous infection or to immunization by vaccination.
Method:
Immunoenzymatic method for the qualitative determination of IgG-class antibodies to Poliovirus IgG in human serum and human plasma, using a disposable device applied on the Chorus and Chorus TRIO instruments.The test is based on the ELISA principle (Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay) which uses the reaction between the antibodies present in the tested sample and the immobilized antigen bound to solid phases.The immunoglobulins bind to the antigen through incubation with diluted human serum.The disposable devices contain all the reagents to perform the test when applied on the Chorus instruments. The results is expressed as an INDEX (ratio between the OD value of the sample and that of the Cut-off).