Polio, one of the world’s most feared diseases, was eradicated in North, Central, and South America in the early 1990s.
That wasn’t the case in the rest of the world, however.
Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a “Level 2 – Practice Enhanced Precautions” advisory for global travelers because the poliovirus is circulating in 30 countries, including Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom.
“Some international destinations have circulating poliovirus,” the CDC explains. “Before any international travel, make sure you are up to date on your polio vaccines.”
What Is Polio?
Polio — or as it’s clinically known, poliomyelitis — is a disabling and potentially deadly disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus, which is very contagious, can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis. While there is no cure for polio, it can be prevented with vaccination.
Poliovirus, which is transmitted via person-to-person contact, spreads after someone comes into contact with the feces of an infected person or droplets when they sneeze or cough, the CDC explains.
“Because the virus that causes polio lives in the feces of an infected person, people infected with the disease can spread it to others when they do not wash their hands well after defecating,” the CDC continues. “People can also be infected if they drink water or eat food contaminated with infected feces.”
Most people with polio do not feel sick. Indeed, they typically only suffer from 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, the CDC notes.
However, in rare cases, polio infection causes permanent loss of muscle function or paralysis, the CDC continues. The disease can be fatal if the muscles used to breathe are paralyzed or if there is an infection of the brain.
In 1955, Jonas Salk’s injectable polio vaccine began to be used in a nationwide immunization campaign across the U.S. Salk’s vaccine is an “inactivated polio vaccine,” which means it uses a polio virus that is not live.
Later, an oral polio vaccine was developed by researcher Albert Sabin in 1962. It uses an attenuated, or weakened, live polio virus.
Thanks to rigorous use of those vaccines, the Region of the Americas was certified polio-free by the World Health Organization in 1994, according to the Pan American Health Organization. It was the first region in the world to receive that designation.
Where Polio Is Circulating
Here are the countries where the poliovirus is circulating, according to the CDC:
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Egypt (only in healthcare facilities, refugee camps, and humanitarian aid settings)
- Ghana
- Indonesia
- Israel
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mozambique
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Republic of the Congo
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Togo
- United Kingdom
- Yemen
- Zambia
How Travelers Can Protect Against Polio
Since most adults in the U.S. were vaccinated as children following the routine childhood immunization schedule, they are most likely protected from getting polio as well.
“Adults who received any childhood vaccines in the United States almost certainly were vaccinated for polio,” the CDC explains.
However, the CDC does note that if you’re traveling internationally, you should make sure kids or grandkids traveling with you are up to date on their routine polio vaccines. The CDC also recommends that all adult travelers who have completed their routine polio vaccine series should get an inactivated polio vaccine booster if they will be traveling to a destination where the poliovirus is known to be circulating.
Finally, the CDC also notes that anyone who is unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or has an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series before traveling internationally.
You can learn more about protecting against polio while traveling on the CDC’s Polio: For Travelers webpage.
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