Data di Pubblicazione:
2004
Citazione:
Prevalence of anti-poliovirus type 1, 2 and 3 antibodies in unvaccinated Italian travelers / L. Signorini, M. Barbi, A. Matteelli, S. Binda, P. Didò, S. Caroppo, V. Primache, S. Pisani, C. Messino, M. Brunelli, P. Costa, E. Ronca, C. Fausti, F. Castelli. - In: JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE. - ISSN 1195-1982. - 11:1(2004), pp. 34-36. [10.2310/7060.2004.13651]
Abstract:
Background: Immunization against poliomyelitis is recommended for international travelers to developing countries. However, the level of antibodies varies even in previously unvaccinated persons, due to wild-type or vaccine-type infections in the eldest travelers. Methods: In 1999, we conducted a seroprevalence study in the Lombardy region (northern Italy), using sera collected in 1994 from a population aged 50 to 59 years. The study subjects were consecutive, randomly selected travelers enrolled in an anti-hepatitis A virus antibody study. Neutralizing antibodies were titrated on Vero cells in microtiter plates. Each serum dilution (11:8 to 1:256) was challenged against 100 tissue culture infective doses of the three Sabin strains. Titers > 1:8 were considered to be protective. Results: We studied 98 travelers, 59 male and 39 female, of mean age 54 years. Seventy-three (74.4%) reported previous travel abroad, but none had been vaccinated against polio. Dietary habits included consumption of seafood in 74.4% and raw vegetables from their own garden in 52.1%. The seroprevalences for neutralizing antibodies against poliovirus type 1, type 2 and type 3 were 86.7%, 89.9%, and 86.7%, respectively. All travelers presented protective antibody titers against at least one of the three viral types. Protective antibody titers were unrelated to travel history or dietary habit. Conclusions: A high proportion of the previously unvaccinated adults in our sample presented protective immunity to polioviruses. This observation may have implications for cost-effectiveness analysis of generalized polio vaccination in adult Italian travelers.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
Travel ; Adult ; Antibodies, Viral ; Female ; Humans ; Italy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Poliomyelitis ; Poliovirus ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Vaccination
Elenco autori:
L. Signorini, M. Barbi, A. Matteelli, S. Binda, P. Didò, S. Caroppo, V. Primache, S. Pisani, C. Messino, M. Brunelli, P. Costa, E. Ronca, C. Fausti, F. Castelli
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