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Poliomyelitis in Afghanistan (Update 2)

13 October 2017

On 11 October the Global Polio Eradication Initiative reported two new wild poliovirus 1 (WPV1) positive environmental samples. One sample was collected on 23 September from Jalalabad district, Nangarhar province, and the other on 24 September from Behsud district, also located in Nangarhar province.

The total number of WPV1 cases for 2017 is currently six. The most recent case in the country had onset of paralysis on 10 July, from Zabul province, neighbouring Kandahar province and Pakistan.

An advance notification of a WPV1 case, received from Batikot district in Nangarhar Province (paralysis onset on 15-Sep-2017), is likely to raise the case count to 7 in the coming days.

Advice for Travellers

Afghanistan is classified by the WHO as a polio infected country.

Authorities in the UK recommend the following:

Travellers should be encouraged to take strict precautions with food, water and personal hygiene.

In Scotland, Health Protection Scotland (HPS) advise:

  • Where visiting a polio infected country for longer than 4 weeks travellers can be given a booster dose of a polio-containing vaccine if they have not had one in the past 12 months (this advice supersedes the current advice in the Green Book).
  • Travellers should acquire this additional dose within 12 months of the date they plan to leave the polio-infected country.
  • Where visiting a polio infected country for less than 4 weeks travellers should ensure they are up-to-date with routine polio vaccination, including 10 yearly boosters.
  • Travellers should carry proof of vaccination. In particular, for Pakistan this should be documented on the standard International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP). The ICVP is the 'Yellow Card' normally used for yellow fever vaccination.
  • In Scotland, paper ICVP’s can be obtained from HPS by contacting TRAVAX administration, email your FULL NAME and FULL POSTAL ADDRESS to: NSS.HPSTravax@nhs.net electronic copies can be downloaded from WHO

In England, Public Health England and NaTHNaC have issued advice which is different to that in Scotland (please look at Travel Health Pro Clinical updates for full details).

For further infromation please see Poliomyeltis and FAQ pages.