Vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis in an infant with perianal abscesses

We describe a case of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP) in a 7-month-old infant with perianal abscesses. The infant had suffered from perianal abscesses from 3 weeks after birth. The abscesses repeatedly developed and spontaneously drained through the orifice. Twenty-seven days before admission, a live attenuated oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) was given to the infant for the first time for routine immunization. His body temperature rose to 38°C 19 days after receiving the OPV and fell 4 days later. Flaccid paralysis of the right leg appeared 26 days after receipt of the OPV. A Sabin type 3 poliovirus was isolated from a stool obtained at admission. The DNA sequences of the VP1 region of the isolated virus were more than 99% identical with those of the vaccine strain. Mild muscle atrophy with moderate motor impairment in the right leg persisted at 18 months of age. One VAPP case provoked by a perianal abscess has been reported from the United Kingdom. Database search revealed that one of nine VAPP cases reported during 2003–2008 in Japan had a perianal abscess. Taken together, these reports and our case imply that we should give OPV with caution to infants with a perianal abscess.