Polio Confirmed in Six Countries

According to an update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) on June 4, 2025, six countries reported additional polio cases last week.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, located in South Asia, reported a case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) from Gilgit-Baltistan, bringing its total number of cases to 11 in 2025.

Additionally, two WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported from Balochistan and Punjab, indicating the risk of additional cases being reported in 2025.

In 2024, 74 WPV1 cases were reported in Pakistan.

According to the European CDC, the last WPV infection in Europe was in 1998, and the World Health Organization declared the European Region polio-free in 2002. 

Five other countries reported circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases last week: Chad, Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Niger, and Yemen.

Additionally, Papua New Guinea reported acute flaccid paralysis cases have been reported across 11 provinces, with 20 cases testing negative for poliovirus and 28 cases still under investigation, as of June 6, 2025.

Since polio is a vaccine-preventable disease, the ECDC published a guide for children and adults that focuses on strengthening the capacities of healthcare providers to better address concerns about vaccination and tackle obstacles to vaccination uptake.

In the United States, Polio vaccination has been part of the routine childhood immunization schedule for decades. Since 2000, the Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has been the only polio vaccine offered. In July 2022, a case of polio caused by VDPV2 in an unvaccinated individual from Rockland County, New York.

The U.S. CDC recommends that an IPV booster dose may be advisable when visiting a poliovirus endemic area in 2025.