Polio laboratory findings

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]

Laboratory Findings

Viral Isolation

Poliovirus may be recovered from the stool or pharynx of a person with poliomyelitis.

Isolation of virus from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is diagnostic, but is rarely accomplished. If poliovirus is isolated from a person with acute flaccid paralysis, it must be further tested, using oligonucleotide mapping (fingerprinting) or genomic sequencing, to determine if the virus is “wild type” or vaccine type.

Serology

Neutralizing antibodies appear early and may be at high levels by the time the patient is hospitalized; therefore, a fourfold rise in antibody titer may not be demonstrated.

Cerebrospinal Fluid

In poliovirus infection, the CSF usually contains an increased number of white blood cells (10–200 cells/mm3, primarily lymphocytes) and a mildly elevated protein (40–50 mg/100 mL).