Immunity status against poliomyelitis in Germany: Determination of cut-off values in International Units
Background
To prevent importations of wild polioviruses into a polio free region a high level of population immunity must be kept. Standard methodology for determination of polio antibodies is a feature aimed at obtaining consistent results. An International Standard Serum for polio antibodies exists, but no protective level in International Units is defined.
Methods
A representative study was carried out in order to determine the serological status against poliomyelitis in Germany (n = 2564, age 18–79 years). Furthermore, sera from persons aged less than 18 years were included (n = 881). Microneutralization test has been used for determination of antibody levels. Results have been expressed in International Units.
Results
The results of this study indicate that the cut-off level for polio antibodies is 0.075 IU/ml for Polio 1, 0.180 IU/ml for Polio 2 and 0.080 IU/ml for Polio 3. Neutralizing antibodies against poliovirus type 1, 2 and 3 were detected in 96.2%, 96.8% and 89.6% of samples, respectively.
Conclusions
Overall, this seroprevalence indicates a very high level of immunity of the general population. It must be kept after the switch of immunization strategy from attenuated to inactivated vaccine in Germany.
Complete Metadata
| @type | dcat:Dataset |
|---|---|
| accessLevel | public |
| bureauCode |
[
"009:25"
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|
| contactPoint |
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"fn": "NIH",
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|
| description | Background To prevent importations of wild polioviruses into a polio free region a high level of population immunity must be kept. Standard methodology for determination of polio antibodies is a feature aimed at obtaining consistent results. An International Standard Serum for polio antibodies exists, but no protective level in International Units is defined. Methods A representative study was carried out in order to determine the serological status against poliomyelitis in Germany (n = 2564, age 18–79 years). Furthermore, sera from persons aged less than 18 years were included (n = 881). Microneutralization test has been used for determination of antibody levels. Results have been expressed in International Units. Results The results of this study indicate that the cut-off level for polio antibodies is 0.075 IU/ml for Polio 1, 0.180 IU/ml for Polio 2 and 0.080 IU/ml for Polio 3. Neutralizing antibodies against poliovirus type 1, 2 and 3 were detected in 96.2%, 96.8% and 89.6% of samples, respectively. Conclusions Overall, this seroprevalence indicates a very high level of immunity of the general population. It must be kept after the switch of immunization strategy from attenuated to inactivated vaccine in Germany. |
| distribution |
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"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Official Government Data Source",
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| identifier | https://healthdata.gov/api/views/dx5u-376d |
| issued | 2025-07-14 |
| keyword |
[
"microneutralization-test",
"nih",
"polio-antibodies",
"poliomyelitis-immunity",
"seroprevalence-germany"
]
|
| landingPage | https://healthdata.gov/d/dx5u-376d |
| modified | 2025-09-06 |
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{
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| theme |
[
"NIH"
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|
| title | Immunity status against poliomyelitis in Germany: Determination of cut-off values in International Units |
