Advancing poliovirus eradication: lessons learned from piloting direct molecular detection of polioviruses in high-risk and priority geographies

ABSTRACT In the Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN), poliovirus (PV) screening results from acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance is based on virus isolation (VI) through cell culture, entailing long turnaround times and the amplification of live poliovirus. An alternative Direct Detection s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Paula L. Marcet, Brandon Short, Ashley Deas, Hong Sun, Chelsea Harrington, Shahzad Shaukat, Muhammad Masroor Alam, Marycelin Baba, Adedayo Faneye, Prossy Namuwulya, Lea Necitas Apostol, Tamer Elshaarawy, John Kofi Odoom, Peter Borus, Shelina Moonsamy, Yogolelo Riziki, Marie Claire Endegue Zanga, Mesfin Tefera, Anfumbom K. W. Kfutwah, Salmaan Sharif, Varja Grabovac, Cara C. Burns, Nancy Gerloff
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2025-02-01
Series:Microbiology Spectrum
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02279-24
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832540832009289728
author Paula L. Marcet
Brandon Short
Ashley Deas
Hong Sun
Chelsea Harrington
Shahzad Shaukat
Muhammad Masroor Alam
Marycelin Baba
Adedayo Faneye
Prossy Namuwulya
Lea Necitas Apostol
Tamer Elshaarawy
John Kofi Odoom
Peter Borus
Shelina Moonsamy
Yogolelo Riziki
Marie Claire Endegue Zanga
Mesfin Tefera
Anfumbom K. W. Kfutwah
Salmaan Sharif
Varja Grabovac
Cara C. Burns
Nancy Gerloff
author_facet Paula L. Marcet
Brandon Short
Ashley Deas
Hong Sun
Chelsea Harrington
Shahzad Shaukat
Muhammad Masroor Alam
Marycelin Baba
Adedayo Faneye
Prossy Namuwulya
Lea Necitas Apostol
Tamer Elshaarawy
John Kofi Odoom
Peter Borus
Shelina Moonsamy
Yogolelo Riziki
Marie Claire Endegue Zanga
Mesfin Tefera
Anfumbom K. W. Kfutwah
Salmaan Sharif
Varja Grabovac
Cara C. Burns
Nancy Gerloff
author_sort Paula L. Marcet
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT In the Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN), poliovirus (PV) screening results from acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance is based on virus isolation (VI) through cell culture, entailing long turnaround times and the amplification of live poliovirus. An alternative Direct Detection strategy (DD-ITD) for screening viral nucleic acid from stools, bypassing the need for virus culture, has been developed and extensively validated by GPLN partners. A multi-laboratory demonstration project was conceived to field-test the DD-ITD method by GPLN laboratories from the WHO African, Western Pacific, and Eastern Mediterranean regions, where wild serotype 1 or vaccine-derived polioviruses still circulate. Strategically selected laboratories were tasked to simultaneously process stool suspensions with the current gold-standard VI method and the new DD-ITD strategy. Results from 12 laboratories were compiled and analyzed to assess the quality of each RNA extraction and rRT-PCR run. Matched results for both methods of over 10,500 specimens showed an overall method agreement of 91%. All laboratories detected more PV presumptive positive samples with the DD-ITD strategy than with VI, but a large proportion of DD-ITD positive results (72%) were inconclusive or non-typeable, requiring confirmation through sequencing. A total of 298 (2.8%) samples were PV positive using both methods, 828 (7.9%) positive only for DD-ITD, and 62 (0.6%) positive only with VI. The DD-ITD overall performance, quality of results, and agreement between method results varied significantly across participating laboratories. DD-ITD implementation would entail building proficiency in advanced molecular laboratory techniques and data analysis, and increased demand for confirmatory sequencing.IMPORTANCESurveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and sensitive poliovirus detection are key components of the WHO Global Polio Eradication Strategy. This work summarizes the results of a multi-laboratory evaluation designed to field-test the performance and applicability of a molecular Direct Detection strategy (DD-ITD) that does not require amplification of live poliovirus. AFP samples were processed in parallel with both the DD-ITD and the current gold-standard PV detection methodology, based on virus isolation (VI) through cell culture. All participating laboratories detected more PV presumptive positive samples using the DD-ITD strategy than with virus isolation methodology, although a higher proportion of DD-ITD results required confirmatory sequencing. Significant variability among laboratories was observed in the quality of the results and overall DD-ITD performance. Implementing DD-ITD would entail building proficiency in advanced molecular laboratory techniques and strengthening data analysis skills.
format Article
id doaj-art-253a3b7e90194fa8ae32ac78172012a1
institution Kabale University
issn 2165-0497
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher American Society for Microbiology
record_format Article
series Microbiology Spectrum
spelling doaj-art-253a3b7e90194fa8ae32ac78172012a12025-02-04T14:03:41ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972025-02-0113210.1128/spectrum.02279-24Advancing poliovirus eradication: lessons learned from piloting direct molecular detection of polioviruses in high-risk and priority geographiesPaula L. Marcet0Brandon Short1Ashley Deas2Hong Sun3Chelsea Harrington4Shahzad Shaukat5Muhammad Masroor Alam6Marycelin Baba7Adedayo Faneye8Prossy Namuwulya9Lea Necitas Apostol10Tamer Elshaarawy11John Kofi Odoom12Peter Borus13Shelina Moonsamy14Yogolelo Riziki15Marie Claire Endegue Zanga16Mesfin Tefera17Anfumbom K. W. Kfutwah18Salmaan Sharif19Varja Grabovac20Cara C. Burns21Nancy Gerloff22Division of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USADivision of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USATanaq, Contracting agency to the Division of Viral Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USADivision of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USADivision of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USAWorld Health Organization, Global Polio Laboratory Network Headquarters, Geneva, SwitzerlandNational Institute for Health, Islamabad, PakistanNational Polio Laboratory, Maiduguri, NigeriaNational Polio Laboratory, Ibadan, NigeriaUganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, UgandaNational Polio Laboratory, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Manila, PhilippinesPolio Regional Reference Laboratory, VACSERA, Greater Cairo, EgyptNoguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Accra, GhanaKenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, KenyaNational Institute of Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South AfricaNational Institute of Biomedical Research, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of CongoCentre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, CameroonNational Polio Laboratory, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaWorld Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of CongoWorld Health Organization, Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Amman, JordanWorld Health Organization, Regional Office for the Western Pacific, Manila, PhilippinesDivision of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USADivision of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USAABSTRACT In the Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN), poliovirus (PV) screening results from acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance is based on virus isolation (VI) through cell culture, entailing long turnaround times and the amplification of live poliovirus. An alternative Direct Detection strategy (DD-ITD) for screening viral nucleic acid from stools, bypassing the need for virus culture, has been developed and extensively validated by GPLN partners. A multi-laboratory demonstration project was conceived to field-test the DD-ITD method by GPLN laboratories from the WHO African, Western Pacific, and Eastern Mediterranean regions, where wild serotype 1 or vaccine-derived polioviruses still circulate. Strategically selected laboratories were tasked to simultaneously process stool suspensions with the current gold-standard VI method and the new DD-ITD strategy. Results from 12 laboratories were compiled and analyzed to assess the quality of each RNA extraction and rRT-PCR run. Matched results for both methods of over 10,500 specimens showed an overall method agreement of 91%. All laboratories detected more PV presumptive positive samples with the DD-ITD strategy than with VI, but a large proportion of DD-ITD positive results (72%) were inconclusive or non-typeable, requiring confirmation through sequencing. A total of 298 (2.8%) samples were PV positive using both methods, 828 (7.9%) positive only for DD-ITD, and 62 (0.6%) positive only with VI. The DD-ITD overall performance, quality of results, and agreement between method results varied significantly across participating laboratories. DD-ITD implementation would entail building proficiency in advanced molecular laboratory techniques and data analysis, and increased demand for confirmatory sequencing.IMPORTANCESurveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and sensitive poliovirus detection are key components of the WHO Global Polio Eradication Strategy. This work summarizes the results of a multi-laboratory evaluation designed to field-test the performance and applicability of a molecular Direct Detection strategy (DD-ITD) that does not require amplification of live poliovirus. AFP samples were processed in parallel with both the DD-ITD and the current gold-standard PV detection methodology, based on virus isolation (VI) through cell culture. All participating laboratories detected more PV presumptive positive samples using the DD-ITD strategy than with virus isolation methodology, although a higher proportion of DD-ITD results required confirmatory sequencing. Significant variability among laboratories was observed in the quality of the results and overall DD-ITD performance. Implementing DD-ITD would entail building proficiency in advanced molecular laboratory techniques and strengthening data analysis skills.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02279-24nucleic acid extractionpoliovirus eradicationacute flaccid paralysissurveillancedirect detectionreal-time RT-PCR
spellingShingle Paula L. Marcet
Brandon Short
Ashley Deas
Hong Sun
Chelsea Harrington
Shahzad Shaukat
Muhammad Masroor Alam
Marycelin Baba
Adedayo Faneye
Prossy Namuwulya
Lea Necitas Apostol
Tamer Elshaarawy
John Kofi Odoom
Peter Borus
Shelina Moonsamy
Yogolelo Riziki
Marie Claire Endegue Zanga
Mesfin Tefera
Anfumbom K. W. Kfutwah
Salmaan Sharif
Varja Grabovac
Cara C. Burns
Nancy Gerloff
Advancing poliovirus eradication: lessons learned from piloting direct molecular detection of polioviruses in high-risk and priority geographies
Microbiology Spectrum
nucleic acid extraction
poliovirus eradication
acute flaccid paralysis
surveillance
direct detection
real-time RT-PCR
title Advancing poliovirus eradication: lessons learned from piloting direct molecular detection of polioviruses in high-risk and priority geographies
title_full Advancing poliovirus eradication: lessons learned from piloting direct molecular detection of polioviruses in high-risk and priority geographies
title_fullStr Advancing poliovirus eradication: lessons learned from piloting direct molecular detection of polioviruses in high-risk and priority geographies
title_full_unstemmed Advancing poliovirus eradication: lessons learned from piloting direct molecular detection of polioviruses in high-risk and priority geographies
title_short Advancing poliovirus eradication: lessons learned from piloting direct molecular detection of polioviruses in high-risk and priority geographies
title_sort advancing poliovirus eradication lessons learned from piloting direct molecular detection of polioviruses in high risk and priority geographies
topic nucleic acid extraction
poliovirus eradication
acute flaccid paralysis
surveillance
direct detection
real-time RT-PCR
url https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02279-24
work_keys_str_mv AT paulalmarcet advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT brandonshort advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT ashleydeas advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT hongsun advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT chelseaharrington advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT shahzadshaukat advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT muhammadmasrooralam advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT marycelinbaba advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT adedayofaneye advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT prossynamuwulya advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT leanecitasapostol advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT tamerelshaarawy advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT johnkofiodoom advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT peterborus advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT shelinamoonsamy advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT yogoleloriziki advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT marieclaireendeguezanga advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT mesfintefera advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT anfumbomkwkfutwah advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT salmaansharif advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT varjagrabovac advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT caracburns advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies
AT nancygerloff advancingpolioviruseradicationlessonslearnedfrompilotingdirectmoleculardetectionofpoliovirusesinhighriskandprioritygeographies