Live oral poliovirus vaccines and simian cytomegalovirus.

Live oral poliovirus vaccines (OPV) are often produced in primary Cercopithecus monkey kidney (CMK) cells. The kidneys of these monkeys are often latently infected with simian cytomegalovirus (SCMV), and CMK cultures are frequently contaminated with SCMV. We tested human, monkey and rabbit tissue culture systems, and found that MRC-5 cells are most sensitive for detection of SCMV. To address the question of whether OPV could be contaminated with infectious SCMV, we inoculated MRC-5 cells with neutralized OPV manufactured in the United States between 1972 and 1998. Infectious SCMV was not found in any of the vaccine lots tested. We also used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to search for SCMV DNA in live oral poliovirus vaccines; SCMV DNA sequences were found in several of the vaccine lots manufactured prior to 1992.