1. Wstęp. 2. Rys historyczny. 3. Budowa. 3.1. Genom. 3.2. Kapsyd. 4. Namnażanie wirusa polio. 4.1. Wniknięcie do komórki. 4.2. Synteza białek wirusowych. 4.3. Replikacja RNA. 5. Przebieg zakażenia wirusem polio. 6. Neurowirulencja. 7. Tropizm tkankowy wirusa polio. 8. Szczepionki przeciwko wirusowi polio. 9. Program eradykacji poliomyelitis. 10. Podsumowanie

Abstract: Poliovirus is a very small virus; single stranded RNA of positive polarity constitutes its genetic material. It belongs to the Picornaviridae family and may cause the development of poliomyelitis (viral inflammation of the anterior horn of the spinal cord). At the beginning of the twentieth century, the epidemics of polio were very frequent and this fact caused an increased interest in this virus. At present, there are two types of polio virus vaccines: OPV (oral polio vaccine), which contains three serotypes of live attenuated virus and inactivated vaccine IPV (inactivated polio vaccine) containing inactive virus particles. In 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the program of global eradication of wild-type polio virus around the world (Global Polio Eradication Initiative). The outbreaks of wild-type polio still occur in Asia and Africa. Possibility of reversion of vaccine strains of polio virus to wild type carries the fear of re-transmission of the pathogen. It is the most intensively studied enterovirus, but still remains a puzzle.

1. Introduction. 2. Historical background. 3. Structure. 3.1. Genome. 3.2. Capsid. 4. Cellular life cycle of poliovirus. 4.1. Cell entry. 4.2. Synthesis of viral proteins. 4.3. RNA Replication. 5. Poliovirus pathogenesis. 6. Neurovirulence. 7. Poliovirus tissue tropism. 8. Vaccines against poliovirus. 9. The polio eradication initiative. 10. Summary