Report of the Australian National Polio Reference Laboratory, 1 January to 30 June 2000

Abstract

The Australian National Polio Reference Laboratory (NPRL) is responsible for virological confirmation of poliomyelitis in Australia. Since 1995, 1,204 untyped enterovirus or poliovirus isolates from six States have been identified and characterised. Of these, 666 were Sabin vaccine-like poliovirus, 498 were non-polio enteroviruses and 39 were other viruses or negative; one non-Sabin vaccine-like poliovirus was identified as a laboratory contaminant. Early in 2000, the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) was funded to coordinate surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). From 1 January to 30 June 2000, 23 specimens from 13 patients with AFP were processed and cultured for the presence of enterovirus; none was detected. A National Coordinator has been appointed to work with the VIDRL and the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care (CDHAC) to implement the Australian component of the World Health Organization's global plan for containment of wild polioviruses. During April 2000 staff of the NPRL and CDHAC met with the Regional Commission and staff of the World Health Organization (WHO) office of the Western Pacific Region (WPR) to discuss documentation required to certify Australia as poliovirus free. Commun Dis Intell 2000;24:300-303.