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Microscopic image of a poliovirus
Polio Detected in New York City Wastewater
Analyses suggest the virus has been silently spreading in nearby counties since May.
Polio Detected in New York City Wastewater
Polio Detected in New York City Wastewater

Analyses suggest the virus has been silently spreading in nearby counties since May.

Analyses suggest the virus has been silently spreading in nearby counties since May.

polio

Baby with spotted onsie about to get injection of vaccine
Antibiotics Tied to Lower Effectiveness of Childhood Vaccines
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Apr 28, 2022 | 2 min read
Use of the drugs in children under the age of two was associated with lower antibody levels after the jabs—perhaps, researchers suggest, due to microbiome alterations.
Child with head tilted back receiving oral polio vaccine
Mass Polio Vaccination Effort Underway in East Africa
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Mar 18, 2022 | 4 min read
Malawi and its neighbors plan to vaccinate 9.4 million children against polio in the coming week to combat a suspected outbreak.
How Some Vaccines Protect Against More than Their Targets
Shawna Williams | Nov 1, 2020 | 10+ min read
As researchers test existing vaccines for nonspecific protection against COVID-19, immunologists are working to understand how some inoculations protect against pathogens they weren’t designed to fend off.
Treatment Against All Odds
The Scientist Staff | Jul 13, 2020 | 1 min read
Jean Macnamara, a pioneer in the treatment of polio patients and the subject of this issue’s Foundations, comes to life in the form of a Google Doodle to celebrate what would have been her 121st birthday.
Jean Macnamara’s Multiple Causes, 1931
Catherine Offord | Jul 13, 2020 | 3 min read
The medical scientist made important contributions to polio treatment and Australian environmental policy—despite substantial resistance.
poliovirus nprv2 vaccine-derived polio reversion virulence 481a mutation genetic engineering
New Oral Polio Vaccine to Bypass Key Clinical Trials
Robert Fortner | Dec 17, 2019 | 6 min read
Health officials are rushing a genetically engineered product into the field to counter uncontained outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio.
Polio Vaccination Causes More Infections than Wild Virus
Jef Akst | Nov 25, 2019 | 2 min read
In rare instances, the live virus in oral polio vaccines can mutate and become infectious, causing new outbreaks.
More Evidence that Enterovirus May Cause Kids’ Paralyzing Disease
Catherine Offord | Oct 22, 2019 | 2 min read
Children with acute flaccid myelitis are more likely to have antibodies against the viral family in their spinal fluid than are children without the illness.
Enterovirus Might Be Behind Kids’ Paralysis: Preprint
Catherine Offord | Jun 17, 2019 | 2 min read
Researchers identify a possible driver of acute flaccid myelitis, a polio-like disease diagnosed in more than 500 children over the last few years.
More Reports of Children Being Paralyzed by Mysterious Disease
Ashley P. Taylor | Oct 17, 2018 | 2 min read
Dozens of cases of acute flaccid myelitis have occurred this year, and while it resembles polio, health officials have ruled out poliovirus.
Polio Vaccine Pioneer Dies
Kerry Grens | May 2, 2017 | 2 min read
Julius Youngner collaborated with Jonas Salk on the polio vaccine, and later identified interferon gamma and contributed to an equine influenza vaccine.
Pathway to Polio Virulence Revealed
Ashley P. Taylor | Mar 23, 2017 | 3 min read
Using epidemiological and laboratory data, scientists have mapped out a sequence of mutations through which the attenuated oral polio vaccine reverts to a virulent virus.
Toward a Virus-Free Polio Vaccine
Ashley P. Taylor | Jan 19, 2017 | 2 min read
Researchers are developing polio vaccines based on the viral capsid alone. When produced in recombinant systems, these could eliminate the need to propagate live poliovirus for vaccine production. 
Polio Reemerges in Nigeria
Jef Akst | Aug 15, 2016 | 3 min read
Prior to last week’s announcement of newly confirmed cases, the country had been polio-free for two years.
Speaking of Microbiology
Tanya Lewis and Tracy Vence | Jun 21, 2016 | 2 min read
A selection of notable quotes from the American Society for Microbiology’s annual meeting
Updating the Polio Vaccine
Jef Akst | Jan 4, 2016 | 2 min read
Researchers develop new attenuated viruses that could support the eradication effort.
Toward Eliminating Poliovirus—In the Lab
Rina Shaikh-Lesko | Nov 16, 2015 | 5 min read
As the world inches closer to polio eradication, laboratories studying the virus will have to bolster biosafety standards. Eventually, most will need to stop working with the pathogen entirely.
Polio No Longer Endemic in Nigeria
Tracy Vence | Sep 29, 2015 | 1 min read
It’s been more than a year since the country has reported a case of wild poliovirus, according to the World Health Organization. 
Driven to Extinction
Jef Akst | Jul 1, 2015 | 10+ min read
The eradication of smallpox set the standard for the global elimination of a devastating infectious disease. Will the ongoing polio and guinea worm campaigns be as successful?
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