Polio Booster Suggested When Visiting These Countries

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today published an updated Level 2 advisory that identified about thirty countries where poliovirus is an active health risk.

Reissued on June 15, 2023, the CDC's Global Polio alert says before traveling to any destination listed, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine.

The detections of poliovirus in areas where it had been previously eliminated underscore the threat of continued poliovirus spreading to any place where the population is insufficiently vaccinated against it, wrote the CDC on May 12, 2023.

Additionally, the CDC and the State of New York confirmed as of June 5, 2023, sequencing analysis confirmed that one type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) positive sample of concern had been found in N.Y. this year.

In 2022, 101 wastewater samples genetically linked to a polio patient (Acute flaccid myelitis) in N.Y. were identified.

Polio is a debilitating, life-threatening, vaccine-preventable disease. Poliovirus can affect the brain and spinal cord and can cause paralysis or even death, says the CDC.

Separately, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) confirmed on June 14, 2023, new polioviruses were identified last week in  Afghanistan, Pakistan, Côte d'Ivoire: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mali, and Nigeria.

The GPEI uses two types of polio vaccine to stop transmission; inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and oral polio vaccine (OPV).

To better address the evolving risk of cVDPV2, the GPEI and its partners have offered the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in certain African countries.

Since 2022, over 600 million nPOV2 doses have been administered.

In the U.S., the IPV has been deployed since 2000.

And in N.Y., the Health Department says adults who live or work in the areas where poliovirus has been repeatedly detected in wastewater (Rockland, Orange, and Sullivan Counties) and are unvaccinated, under-vaccinated, or don't believe they are vaccinated, should get all recommended IPV doses.

This is particularly urgent if they live, work, attend school, or have frequent social interactions with communities where poliovirus has been repeatedly detected in wastewater in N.Y.

Furthermore, a one-lifetime booster dose of IPV should be offered to adults who have previously completed their polio vaccination series and are at the highest risk of infection, writes N.Y. Health Department.

However, as of June 16, 2023, booster doses are not recommended for individuals traveling to the New York City metropolitan area, including Rockland, Orange, or Sullivan Counties, merely because of their travel status.