34 Countries At-Risk for Polio Outbreaks

According to an updated Travel Health Advisory, there are now 34 destinations that may have circulating poliovirus.

As of May 3, 2024, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative confirmed various countries reported WPV1, cVDPV2, and cVDPV1 polio cases this year.

On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reissued its Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions notice regarding recent polio outbreaks.

The CDC says that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series may receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine before traveling to any destination listed. And to ensure that anyone who is unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated completes the routine polio vaccine series before departing abroad.

In the U.S., polio vaccination services are generally available at health clinics and community pharmacies.

Previously, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed during the 38th meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee for Polio that the spread of the poliovirus remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and recommended its extension for a further three months to July 2024 to reduce the risk of the international spread of poliovirus.

Unfortunately, the U.S. is included in the WHO April 2024 notice.