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. 2014 Nov 1;210 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S136-42.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiu086.

Poliovirus immunity among pregnant females aged 15-44 years, Namibia, 2010

Cristina V Cardemil  1 , Anna Jonas  2 , Sue Gerber  3 , William C Weldon 3rd  4 , M Steven Oberste  4 , Anita Beukes  3 , Souleymane Sawadogo  3 , Sadhna V Patel  3 , Sikota Zeko  2 , Clementine Muroua  2 , Esegiel Gaeb  5 , Kathleen Wannemuehler  1 , James L Goodson  1
Affiliations

Poliovirus immunity among pregnant females aged 15-44 years, Namibia, 2010

Cristina V Cardemil et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Poliovirus (PV) antibody seroprevalence studies assess population immunity, verify an immunization program's performance and vaccine efficacy, and guide polio eradication strategy. Namibia experienced a polio outbreak among adults in 2006, yet population seroimmunity was unknown.

Methods: We tested 2061 specimens from Namibian pregnant females aged 15-44 years for neutralizing antibody to PV types 1-3 (PV1-3); all females were sampled during the 2010 National HIV Sentinel Survey. We determined the proportion of females seropositive for PV antibody by 5-year age strata, and analyzed factors associated with seropositivity, including age, gravidity, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection status, residence, and antiretroviral treatment, by log-binomial regression.

Results: The seroprevalence was 94.6% for PV1, 97.0% for PV2, and 85.1% for PV3. HIV-positive females had significantly lower seroprevalence than HIV-negative females for PV1 (91.8% vs 95.3%; P<.01) and PV3 (80.0% vs 86.1%; P<.01) but not for PV2 (96.4% vs 97.1%; P=.3). The prevalence ratio of seropositivity for HIV-positive females versus HIV-negative females was 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI], .92-.98) for PV1, 0.99 (95% CI, .97-1.01) for PV2, and 0.92 (95% CI, .87-.96) for PV3.

Conclusions: Despite relatively high PV seroprevalence, Namibia might remain at risk for a PV outbreak, particularly in lower-seroprevalence populations, such as HIV-positive females. Namibia should continue to maintain high routine polio vaccination coverage.

Keywords: HIV; Namibia; OPV; adults; neutralizing antibody; polio; poliovirus; population immunity; pregnant women; seroprevalence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. All authors: No reported conflicts.

All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

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