The German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS): State of immunity against poliomyelitis in German children

One of the goals of the WHO is the worldwide eradication of poliomyelitis in the coming years. Europe was declared poliofree in 2002, but increasing migration may lead to a come-back of circulating polioviruses. A high level of population immunity protects against imported wild viruses from endemic areas. The first seroprevalence data since the switch from live to inactivated vaccine in Germany (OPV to IPV) are provided. A serum panel was tested (n=2,046) in order to study the serological status against poliomyelitis. The microneutralization test on RD cells was used. Overall, neutralizing antibodies against poliovirus types 1, 2 and 3 were detected in 97.4%,97.6%, and 93.6% of samples, respectively. Of the test persons, 91.7% had antibodies against all three virus types. Only 26 children simultaneously lacked neutralizing antibodies for all three serotypes (1.3%). No significant correlation between gender, region (East/West)), migration status (with/without migration background) and antibody prevalence to polioviruses was found. The seroprevalence of antibodies against all three types of polioviruses indicates a very high level of population immunity in German children. It must be maintained through consequently performed vaccination programmes.