Polio Alert

Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe

The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department International Travel Vaccination Clinic is advising potential travelers of a Polio Alert – Level 2, for parts of Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.  All international travelers should practice enhanced precautions when travelling to Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.

The WOCHD travel vaccination clinic can assist Ohio Valley travelers with necessary vaccinations and prescriptions.

As the COVID-19 situation around the world changes, CDC is monitoring COVID-19 risk in each country and making travel recommendations. If you are considering international travel, see CDC’s COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination.

Key points

  • Everyone should be fully vaccinated against polio virus according to schedule (see Polio Vaccination: What Everyone Should Know).
  • Before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series.
  • Some international destinations are considered high risk for polio. Before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine.
  • Destinations in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa currently considered high risk for polio are listed below.

What is polio?

Polio is a crippling and potentially deadly disease that affects the nervous system. Good hand washing practices can help prevent the spread of this disease. Because the virus that causes polio lives in the feces (poop) of an infected person, people infected with the disease can spread it to others when they do not wash their hands well after defecating (pooping). People can also be infected if they drink water or eat food contaminated with infected feces.

Most people with polio do not feel sick. Some people have only minor symptoms, such as fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, stiffness in the neck and back, and pain in the arms and legs. In rare cases, polio infection causes permanent loss of muscle function (paralysis). Polio can be fatal if the muscles used for breathing are paralyzed or if there is an infection of the brain.

What is the current situation?

The following destinations in Africa are currently considered high risk for polio:

  • Benin
  • Burkina Faso
  • Cameroon
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Djibouti
  • Egypt (healthcare facilities, refugee camps, and humanitarian aid settings only)
  • Ethiopia
  • Gambia
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Liberia
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Mauritania
  • Mozambique
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Republic of the Congo
  • Senegal
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia
  • South Sudan
  • Uganda

 

The following destinations in Asia and Eastern Europe are currently considered high risk for polio:

  • Afghanistan
  • Iran (healthcare facilities, refugee camps, and humanitarian aid settings only)
  • Israel
  • Occupied Palestinian Territories
  • Pakistan
  • Tajikistan
  • Ukraine
  • Yemen

 

What can travelers do to prevent polio?

Get the polio vaccine

Adult travelers that (1) previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series, (2) have not yet received an adult booster dose, and (3) are going to any of the destinations listed above, should receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine. Even those who have been sick with polio previously may need a booster dose of polio vaccine. See the Polio Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) for more information.

To help prevent the international spread of polio, the World Health Organization recommends that the destinations listed above require residents and long-term (4 weeks or more) visitors show proof of polio vaccination before leaving the country (See: WHO Statement of the Thirty-first Polio IHR Emergency Committee for Polio).

Clinician Information

Ensure that anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status completes the routine polio vaccine series before international travel.

CDC recommends administering an inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) booster dose to travelers that meet all three of the following conditions

  • Are going to destinations reporting poliovirus
  • Have completed their routine polio vaccine series
  • Have not already received an adult booster dose

For more information on polio vaccination and international travel, see Chapter 4, Poliomyelitis of the CDC Yellow Book.

Additional Information

Traveler Information