Ghana documented the final incidence of wild poliovirus-caused poliomyelitis in 2008, and the nation was proclaimed polio-free in 2015. The levels of polio-neutralizing antibodies in the population of three geographically representative regions of Ghana were measured in order to identify potential immunity gaps. In 2016, three areas conducted cross-sectional, hospital, and school-based research. Individuals who attended the region’s three teaching hospitals and were referred for haematology examinations were asked to take part in our study. WHO-standards were used to measure neutralizing antibody titers to polio serotypes P1, P2, and P3. Antibody titers of 8 were regarded as protective. Clinical and epidemiological data were collected from parents and their lame children for the school lameness survey. To investigate possible reasons for failure to seroconvert, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed on subject characteristics. Neutralizing antibodies against poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3 were found in 86%, 84%, and 75% of the samples, respectively. Sixty-one percent were seropositive for all three polio serotypes, whereas 2.9 percent were seronegative. Anti-polio antibodies declined with age. Poor seroprevalence of polio-neutralizing antibodies was shown to be strongly related with mothers’ low school attendance.
Our research population is only modestly immune to the three poliovirus serotypes. Immunity appears to be decreased with increasing age and a poor mother’s education. This might point to the necessity for a young-adult booster dosage to reduce the risk of wild poliovirus infection.
Reference:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2019.1637235
