Wild Poliovirus Type 1 in Oman: A re-emerging threat that requires urgent, targeted and strategic preparedness

Laboratory diagnosis of CNS infections in children due to emerging and re-emerging neurotropic viruses

Recent decades have witnessed the emergence and re-emergence of numerous medically important viruses that cause central nervous system (CNS) infections in children, e.g., Zika, West Nile, and enterovirus/parechovirus. Children with immature immune defenses and blood-brain barrier are more vulnerable to viral CNS infections and meningitis than adults. Viral invasion into the CNS causes meningitis, encephalitis, brain imaging abnormalities, and long-term neurodevelopmental sequelae. Rapid and accurate detection of neurotropic viral infections is essential for diagnosing CNS diseases and setting up an appropriate patient management plan. The addition of new molecular assays and next-generation sequencing has broadened diagnostic capabilities for identifying infectious meningitis/encephalitis. However, the expansion of test menu has led to new challenges in selecting appropriate tests and making accurate interpretation of test results. There are unmet gaps in development of rapid, sensitive and specific molecular assays for a growing list of emerging and re-emerging neurotropic viruses. Herein we will discuss the advances and challenges in the laboratory diagnosis of viral CNS infections in children. This review not only sheds light on selection and interpretation of a suitable diagnostic test for emerging/re-emerging neurotropic viruses, but also calls for more research on development and clinical utility study of novel molecular assays. IMPACT: Children with immature immune defenses and blood-brain barrier, especially neonates and infants, are more vulnerable to viral central nervous system infections and meningitis than adults. The addition of new molecular assays and next-generation sequencing has broadened diagnostic capabilities for identifying infectious meningitis and encephalitis. There are unmet gaps in the development of rapid, sensitive and specific molecular assays for a growing list of emerging and re-emerging neurotropic viruses.

Importance of Population Education in Implementation of Compulsory Immunization Against Polyomyelitis in Children

Poliomyelitis is a contagious disease characterized by the appearance of fever, malaise, scratching in the throat, gastrointestinal signs, and after a few days the appearance of muscle paralysis, as well as respiratory and vasomotor disorders. Today, this disease is very rare, due to systemic active immunization. The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge and attitudes toward poliomyelitis and importance of immunization against it.

A specially designed survey questionnaire was used for interviewing purposes. Data analysis and processing were performed using a statistical data processing package (SPSS for Windows, version 20). A chi-square test was used from the statistical tests.

The educated profile of the respondents was as follows: medical sciences - 37 (50%), natural sciences and mathematics - 6 (8,1%), social sciences - 5 (6,8%), technical sciences - 19 (25,7%) and arts - 7 (9,5%). The study findings indicate a high level of awareness and knowledge of the population regarding polio, as well as good health awareness of the population about immunization i.e. polio vaccination. 34 respondents from the field of medical education answered the question exactly how the vaccine protects against the disease. In the field of natural mathematical sciences, a total of 3 gave the correct answer, which makes 50% of the total number of persons (6) in the mentioned field. In addition, majority of the study sample (70,3%) is aware that child should be vaccinated. Furthermore, 91,9% of respondents agree that education of parents regarding children vaccination is of great importance for whole community.

Based on findings of present study it can be concluded that efforts still need to be made in education of the wider population toward polio and the importance of vaccination. In addition to healthcare professionals, the entire community should participate in this strategic task.

Antiviral adsorption activity of porous silicon nanoparticles against different pathogenic human viruses

New viral infections, due to their rapid spread, lack of effective antiviral drugs and vaccines, kill millions of people every year. The global pandemic SARS-CoV-2 in 2019-2021 has shown that new strains of viruses can widespread very quickly, causing disease and death, with significant socio-economic consequences. Therefore, the search for new methods of combating different pathogenic viruses is an urgent task, and strategies based on nanoparticles are of significant interest. This work demonstrates the antiviral adsorption (virucidal) efficacy of nanoparticles of porous silicon (PSi NPs) against various enveloped and non-enveloped pathogenic human viruses, such as Influenza A virus, Poliovirus, Human immunodeficiency virus, West Nile virus, and Hepatitis virus. PSi NPs sized 60 nm with the average pore diameter of 2 nm and specific surface area of 200 m2/g were obtained by ball-milling of electrochemically-etched microporous silicon films. After interaction with PSi NPs, a strong suppression of the infectious activity of the virus-contaminated fluid was observed, which was manifested in a decrease in the infectious titer of all studied types of viruses by approximately 104 times, and corresponded to an inactivation of 99.99% viruses in vitro. This sorption capacity of PSi NPs is possible due to their microporous structure and huge specific surface area, which ensures efficient capture of virions, as confirmed by ELISA analysis, dynamic light scattering measurements and transmission electron microscopy images. The results obtained indicate the great potential of using PSi NPs as universal viral sorbents and disinfectants for the detection and treatment of viral diseases.

Non-Polio Enteroviruses from Acute Flaccid Paralysis Surveillance in Korea, 2012-2019

The risk of polio importation and re-emergence persists since epidemic polio still occurs in some countries, and the resurgence of polio occurring almost 20 years after polio eradication was declared in Asia has been reported. We analyzed the results of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance in Korea to assess the quality of AFP surveillance and understand the etiology of non-polio enterovirus (NPEV)-associated central nervous system diseases in a polio-free area. We investigated 637 AFP patients under 15 years of age whose cases were confirmed during 2012–2019 by virus isolation, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and VP1 gene sequencing. Among the 637 AFP cases, NPEV was detected in 213 (33.4%) patients, with the majority observed in EV-A71, with 54.9% of NPEV positives. EV-A71 has been shown to play a role as a major causative agent in most neurological diseases except for Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), and meningitis. This study provides information on the AFP surveillance situation in Korea and highlights the polio eradication stage in the monitoring and characterization of NPEV against the outbreak of neurological infectious diseases such as polio.