Poliomyelitis Faecal and Serological Surveys in the Chinese Population in Hong Kong in 1960

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Abstract
Summary A fecal survey for polioviruses in normal Chinese children and a serological survey for antibodies to all 3 types of poliovirus among a sample of the Chinese population were carried out in Hong Kong. The carrier rate for polioviruses in normal Chinese children under 5 years was found to be 20.5 per 1,000 with a high incidence in the age groups of 6 to 12 and 13 to 24 months. The percentage of non-polio enterovirus excretors was 9.1%, as determined by tests in monkey kidney cultures. Among the Chinese population of Hong Kong, about 62% of the children had actively acquired neutralizing antibodies to all three types of poliovirus, and 81% to 87% for any one type, by the time they attained the age of 5 years. This figure rose to 78% for all 3 types, and 88% to 94% for any one type, between the age of 5 and 9 years, and to 94% for all 3 types and 98% for any one type in adult life. This implies that all 3 types of poliovirus are widely distributed in the community, and the rapid acquisition of type 1 antibody by infants of 7 to 12 months of age corresponded to the predominance of poliovirus type 1 in clinical cases reported during the summer of 1960.