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University Bonn speaks of alarming findings
Researchers find new polio virus
BONN. Scientists have discovered a mutated polio virus that can break the vaccination against the disease.
The new pathogen, researchers from Bonn and the African country Gabon found in victims of a polio epidemic in the Congo four years ago, the University of Bonn announced yesterday. Thus, the mutant virus could also in Germany probably can infect many people.
Thanks effective vaccines, polio (poliomyelitis) still be considered as nearly exterminated: Each year, according to the University of Bonn world only a few hundred people. Against this background, the findings in victims of the outbreak in the Congo was "alarming," said a spokesman for the university.
The polio epidemic in the Congo in 2010 was was reported by scientists particularly difficult. 445 people were infected proven, mostly young adults. In 209 of them the disease was fatal, representing a surprisingly high mortality rate.
On top of that, according to findings of researchers, many of the patients had obviously been vaccinated: Other surveys, nearly half of the patients to have received the required three doses remembered. So far was the vaccination as a highly effective weapon to keep the causative agent of poliomyelitis in chess.
"We have polio viruses isolated from dead and examined more closely," said the scientist Jan Felix Drexler, who formerly worked at the Institute of Virology of the University Hospital Bonn and now operates in the Netherlands. "The pathogen carries a mutation that changes its shape at a critical point." This leads to the fact that the induced by vaccination antibodies could barely detect and incapacitate the mutant virus.
The polio epidemic in the Congo could ultimately only be stopped by a massive vaccination program and hygiene measures, according to the University of Bonn. So even the current vaccines appear to work well enough - but only if they are administered in a timely and consistent manner as the scientists involved in the new study concluded.
Article from 08/20/2014
General Anzeiger
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computertranslation
Date: 19/08/2014
Polio: A mutant virus breaks through vaccination
Scientists at the University of Bonn publish alarming findings
Thanks effective vaccines, polio is considered nearly extinct. Each year, only a few hundred people worldwide. However, scientists at the University of Bonn report now together with colleagues from Gabon an alarming finding: When victims of an outbreak in the Congo from 2010 they found a mutant virus that could significantly undermine the vaccination.
More: Universität Bonn
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PNAS - Published online before print August 18, 2014, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1323502111
PNAS August 18, 2014
Robustness against serum neutralization of a poliovirus type 1 from a lethal epidemic of poliomyelitis in the Republic of Congo in 2010
Significance
In 2010, a large outbreak of poliomyelitis involving 445 laboratory-confirmed cases occurred in the Republic of Congo. The 47% case-fatality rate was unusually high. Outbreak severity was attributed to low immunization coverage but vaccine-mediated immunity against the outbreak virus was never investigated. We isolated the poliovirus type 1 responsible for the outbreak and located its evolutionary origins to Southeast Asia. Fatal cases showed evidence for previous vaccination against polioviruses and the outbreak virus was refractive against neutralization by monoclonal and vaccine-derived antibodies. This pointed to immune escape contributing to the severity of the outbreak.
Sustained vaccination regimens in polio-free regions, together with clinical and environmental poliovirus surveillance will be necessary to combat antigenetically variant polioviruses in the poliomyelitis eradication endgame.
University Bonn speaks of alarming findings
Researchers find new polio virus
BONN. Scientists have discovered a mutated polio virus that can break the vaccination against the disease.
The new pathogen, researchers from Bonn and the African country Gabon found in victims of a polio epidemic in the Congo four years ago, the University of Bonn announced yesterday. Thus, the mutant virus could also in Germany probably can infect many people.
Thanks effective vaccines, polio (poliomyelitis) still be considered as nearly exterminated: Each year, according to the University of Bonn world only a few hundred people. Against this background, the findings in victims of the outbreak in the Congo was "alarming," said a spokesman for the university.
The polio epidemic in the Congo in 2010 was was reported by scientists particularly difficult. 445 people were infected proven, mostly young adults. In 209 of them the disease was fatal, representing a surprisingly high mortality rate.
On top of that, according to findings of researchers, many of the patients had obviously been vaccinated: Other surveys, nearly half of the patients to have received the required three doses remembered. So far was the vaccination as a highly effective weapon to keep the causative agent of poliomyelitis in chess.
"We have polio viruses isolated from dead and examined more closely," said the scientist Jan Felix Drexler, who formerly worked at the Institute of Virology of the University Hospital Bonn and now operates in the Netherlands. "The pathogen carries a mutation that changes its shape at a critical point." This leads to the fact that the induced by vaccination antibodies could barely detect and incapacitate the mutant virus.
The polio epidemic in the Congo could ultimately only be stopped by a massive vaccination program and hygiene measures, according to the University of Bonn. So even the current vaccines appear to work well enough - but only if they are administered in a timely and consistent manner as the scientists involved in the new study concluded.
Article from 08/20/2014
General Anzeiger
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
computertranslation
Date: 19/08/2014
Polio: A mutant virus breaks through vaccination
Scientists at the University of Bonn publish alarming findings
Thanks effective vaccines, polio is considered nearly extinct. Each year, only a few hundred people worldwide. However, scientists at the University of Bonn report now together with colleagues from Gabon an alarming finding: When victims of an outbreak in the Congo from 2010 they found a mutant virus that could significantly undermine the vaccination.
More: Universität Bonn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PNAS - Published online before print August 18, 2014, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1323502111
PNAS August 18, 2014
Robustness against serum neutralization of a poliovirus type 1 from a lethal epidemic of poliomyelitis in the Republic of Congo in 2010
Significance
In 2010, a large outbreak of poliomyelitis involving 445 laboratory-confirmed cases occurred in the Republic of Congo. The 47% case-fatality rate was unusually high. Outbreak severity was attributed to low immunization coverage but vaccine-mediated immunity against the outbreak virus was never investigated. We isolated the poliovirus type 1 responsible for the outbreak and located its evolutionary origins to Southeast Asia. Fatal cases showed evidence for previous vaccination against polioviruses and the outbreak virus was refractive against neutralization by monoclonal and vaccine-derived antibodies. This pointed to immune escape contributing to the severity of the outbreak.
Sustained vaccination regimens in polio-free regions, together with clinical and environmental poliovirus surveillance will be necessary to combat antigenetically variant polioviruses in the poliomyelitis eradication endgame.
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