摘要：The National Poliovirus Reference Laboratory at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory(VIDRL) is responsible for poliovirus testing for Australia and the Pacific Island countries. It is also aregional reference laboratory for the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization.Surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis, a clinical manifestation of poliomyelitis, is coordinated at VIDRLin collaboration with the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit. There were 60 unique notifications ofacute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in 2001, of which 44 were classified by the polio expert committee aseligible non-polio AFP cases, that is, from patients resident in Australia and aged less than 15 years.Polioviruses were isolated from one AFP patient and characterised as Sabin oral poliovirus vaccine-likefor all 3 serotypes. In the same period, the National Poliovirus Reference Laboratory identified 40 Sabin-like viruses from 74 referred isolates and specimens, and an additional five non-Sabin-like polioviruses aspart of the laboratory containment of poliovirus. The Western Pacific Region, of which Australia is amember nation, was declared free of circulating wild poliovirus in October 2000. However, during 2001,viruses derived from the Sabin oral poliovirus vaccine caused 3 cases of poliomyelitis in the Philippines,also a member nation of the Western Pacific Region. The identification of circulating vaccine-derivedpoliovirus in the Philippines has emphasised the necessity of maintaining a high level of vaccinationcoverage within Australia and an effective surveillance system to detect cases of poliomyelitis
