WILD POLIO VIRUS SURVEILLANCE IN THE SEWAGE SYSTEM OF SELECTED COMMUNITIES AT THE RISK OF POLIOMYELITIS IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Twenty two sewage samples collected from eleven locations among commun ities at risk of poliomyelitis in the southwestern part of Nigeria wer e screened for the presence of polio virus. The virus was isolated fro nt seven of the samples. All the isolates were type 1 wild polio virus , an indication that all the isolates were from human contamination an d that the wild polio virus is still very much in circulation in Niger ia many years after the Expanded Programme on Immunisation was introdu ced. It can be concluded from this study that polio immunisation campa ign has mot been successful in Nigeria considering the number of wild polio virus isolated from the sewage samples since virological examina tion of sewage has been used to document the effect of vaccination cam paigns.