Monovalent Poliovirus Vaccine Superior to Trivalent Vaccine

Given at birth, it more effectively induces humoral antibodies, overcomes maternally derived ones

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) -- The monovalent type 1 oral poliovirus vaccine is more effective than trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine when given at birth, according to research published in the Oct. 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Nasr El-Sayed, M.D., of the Ministry of Health and Population in Cairo, Egypt, and colleagues randomly assigned 530 subjects in Egypt to receive one dose of either monovalent type 1 oral poliovirus vaccine or trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine at birth. All subjects received a single challenge dose of monovalent type 1 oral poliovirus vaccine 30 days after birth. The authors note that 421 subjects met the study requirements.

The researchers found that after 30 days, the rate of seroconversion to type 1 poliovirus was 55.4 percent in the monovalent group and only 32.1 percent in the trivalent group. Forty-six percent of the subjects in the monovalent group who had a high reciprocal titer of maternally derived antibodies against type 1 poliovirus underwent seroconversion, while 21.3 percent in the trivalent group did. A week after the monovalent vaccine challenge dose was administered, 25.9 percent of those in the monovalent group excreted type 1 poliovirus, and 41.5 percent in the trivalent group did.

"Our data confirm the potential contribution of supplemental doses of monovalent type 1 oral poliovirus vaccine to accelerate the interruption of the final chains of poliovirus transmission and eventually achieve the goal of global eradication of poliomyelitis," the authors conclude.

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