A national cross-sectional study for poliovirus seroprevalence in the Republic of Korea in 2012: implication for deficiency in immunity to polio among middle-aged people

Background A worldwide poliomyelitis eradication program was initiated in 1988; however, strains of wild poliovirus (WPV) are still endemic in some countries. Until WPV transmission is eradicated globally, importation and outbreaks of WPV are alarming possibilities. This study is the first report to document the polio immunity after 2004, when an inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was introduced in the Republic of Korea.