Poliopolis: pushing boundaries of scientific innovations for disease eradication

Abstract

Although global polio eradication is within reach, sustained eradication of all polioviruses requires cessation of oral poliovirus vaccine use to mitigate against vaccine-derived poliovirus circulation and vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis. The first step in this direction was the WHO-recommended global withdrawal of live attenuated type 2 Sabin poliovirus from routine immunisation in May 2016, with future use restricted to outbreak response, and handling controlled by strict containment provisions (GAPIII). This creates unique challenges for development and testing of novel type 2 poliovirus vaccines. We describe the creation of a novel purpose-built containment facility, Poliopolis, to study new monovalent OPV2 vaccine candidates in healthy adult volunteers, which may be a model for future endeavors in vaccine development for emergency use.