24 May 2010

Changes to the NaTHNaC Country Information Pages: Polio

The NaTHNaC Country Information Pages provide detailed, evidence-based country-specific information and recommendations for vaccine preventable and many non-vaccine preventable risks. The information on these pages is updated as new information becomes available; it is also reviewed on a periodic basis. In May 2010 NaTHNaC reviewed and updated the polio information using the resources listed below.

Revised Polio Recommendations:

All travellers, independent of destination, should complete a primary vaccination course for polio according to the UK schedule. NaTHNaC recommends that travellers visiting countries where polio cases have been reported in the last 3 years (since January 2007) receive a booster dose of polio-containing vaccine if they have not received one in the previous 10 years. This includes the following countries:

• Countries with endemic polio transmission: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

• Countries reporting cases of polio related to importation since January 2007: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Togo and Uganda.

• Countries not reporting cases since January 2007, but with wild type poliovirus identified in environmental samples: Egypt.

Due to the absence of reported polio cases since January 2007, a booster dose of polio-containing vaccine is no longer recommended for travellers to the following countries:

• Bangladesh, Indonesia, Namibia and Yemen.

• For persons travelling only to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (a Union Territory of India) a booster dose of a polio-containing vaccine is not required as there have been no reported cases since January 2007.

Countries located close to areas where poliovirus is still circulating are at risk of re-introduction. NaTHNaC monitor the global polio situation, as detailed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and World Health Organization, and make changes as new information becomes available.

Polio is a virus transmitted through food and water. Travellers to areas with ongoing polio transmission should practice strict food and water hygiene. More information on polio can be found on the NaTHNaC Health Information Sheet on polio.

Links

NaTHNaC Country Information Pages

NaTHNaC Outbreak Surveillance Search

NaTHNaC Health Information Sheet on polio

Resources

Global Polio Eradication Initiative

World Health Organization: Polio

National Polio Surveillance Project India