[Detection of poliomyelitis viral strains in natural isolates and identification of them by polymerase chain reaction].

One hundred and fifty nucleotide-long VP1/2A junction regions were sequenced in the RNAs of 19 strains isolated in 1990-1991 from patients with paralytic poliomyelitis in different regions of the former USSR. On the basis of the alignments of these sequenced RNAs, four pairs of 19-25 base-long oligodeoxynucleotide PCR primers were designed capable of detecting polio RNAs in isolated strains and of discriminating between polio genotypes. PCR with 520 polio virus strains isolated from patients, normal subjects, and environmental objects showed 428 of these strains to be related to Sabin's vaccine strains, whereas the rest were referred to A (30), T (24), and G (1) genotypes of serotype 1 and to C-genotype (37) of serotype 3. The designed primers were highly specific and did not cross-react between themselves and with primers specific for Sabin's vaccine strains in PCR.