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poliovirus vaccine live oral(OPV)
an oral vaccine against poliomyelitis consisting of three types of live, attenuated polioviruses. It is given orally, often on a sugar cube, and so is convenient
for administration to children and large groups of people. It induces both humoral and intestinal immunity, so is useful for
immunization and poliomyelitis eradication in areas where wild-type polioviruses have not been eradicated. However, it can
cause vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis in persons newly vaccinated with it and their contacts, which is considered
an unjustifiable risk in countries such as the United States, where the risk of exposure to wild-type polioviruses is very
low. Thus, for routine immunization in the United States, it has been superseded by poliovirus vaccine inactivated. Called also Sabin vaccine.
Copyright 2007. An Elsevier publication. All rights reserved.
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