LONDON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A recent study that found polio virus lingering in a man's gut for decades could complicate the eradication of the disease.
An unnamed British man has no symptoms of the disease, but his stool has included a highly contagious form of the virus for much of his life. After receiving a full complement of oral polio vaccinations at the appropriate intervals, an unrelated health condition suppressed his immune system and rendered it incapable of destroying the virus. More than 100 stool samples taken over 20 years confirm the virus' continued presence.