Poliomyelitis is diagnosed by: September 2010 March 2013 (a, h)

Ans. D: Isolation of virus from stool Poliomyelitis diagnosis may be confirmed with a laboratory diagnosis. Viral isolation Poliovirus may be recovered from the stool or pharynx of a person with presumed poliomyelitis. Isolation of virus from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is diagnostic, but is rarely accomplished. If poliovirus is isolated from a person with acute flaccid paralysis, it must be tested fuher, using oligonucleotide mapping (fingerprinting) or genomic sequencing, to determine if the virus is "wild-like" or "vaccine-like." Serology Neutralizing antibodies appear early and may be at high levels by the time the patient is hospitalized and, therefore, a 4-fold rise may not be demonstrated. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) The CSF in poliovirus infection usually contains an increased number of white blood cells (10 to 200 cells/mm 3, primarily lymphocytes) and a mildly elevated protein from 40 to 50 mg/100 ml.