Polio detected in sewage sample near São Paulo
This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was detected in a sewage sample collected in March 2014 near São Paulo, home of this year’s World Cup. Brazilian authorities are conducting further investigations to rule out any local spread, but at this time no cases of polio have been reported in Brazil, which has been polio-free since 1989.
Genetic sequencing found the positive sample to be most closely related to a virus found in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in March. The risk of further exportation of polio from Equatorial Guinea remains high as…
