poliovirus
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GC: n

S: NCBI – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/68017955 (last access: 8 October 2015); GOV.UK – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/poliovirus-detected-in-sewage-from-north-and-east-london (last access: 13 September 2024).

N: 1. polio- (in poliomyelitis) + virus, later taken as New Latin. The first known use of poliovirus was in 1939.

  • an enterovirus (species Poliovirus) occurring in three distinct serotypes that cause polio
  • The poliovirus is typically transmitted orally by food, drink, or hands that are contaminated with infected fecal matter. The virus may sometimes be transmitted by the respiratory droplets or saliva of an infected individual. The poliovirus multiplies in the intestinal tract and sometimes spreads in the bloodstream throughout the body.

2. the causative agent of poliomyelitis, separable, on the basis of specificity of neutralizing antibody, into three serotypes designated types 1, 2, and 3.po´lioviral.

  • A significant advance was made by the American scientists John Enders, Thomas Weller, and Frederick Robbins, who in 1949 developed the technique of culturing cells on glass surfaces; cells could then be infected with the viruses that cause polio (poliovirus) and other diseases. (Until this time, the poliovirus could be grown only in the brains of chimpanzees or the spinal cords of monkeys.) Culturing cells on glass surfaces opened the way for diseases caused by viruses to be identified by their effects on cells (cytopathogenic effect) and by the presence of antibodies to them in the blood. Cell culture then led to the development and production of vaccines (preparations used to elicit immunity against a disease) such as the poliovirus vaccine.

3. Poliovirus is often transmitted from person-to-person through fecal matter. People living in areas with limited access to running water or flush toilets often get the virus from drinking water contaminated by human waste that contains the virus.
In addition, the virus can be spread by contaminated food or water or direct contact with another infected person. According to the Mayo Clinic, the virus that causes polio is so contagious that anyone living with an infected person will likely become infected themselves.

S: 1. MW – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poliovirus (last access: 13 September 2024). 2. Meddict – http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/poliovirus (last access: 8 October 2015); EncBrit – http://global.britannica.com/science/poliovirus, https://www.britannica.com/science/virus#ref90461 (last access: 8 October 2015). 3. Healthline – http://www.healthline.com/health/poliomyelitis#Types2 (last access: 8 October 2015).

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CR: HeLa cell, poliomyelitis, virus.