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Polio in Pakistan (Balochistan)

30 May 2018

Local health authorities have reported a case of polio in Dukki district, Balochistan in recent days, according to media. The case is said to be an 18 month old child. This is the second case of polio in Balochistan in 2018.

Pakistan is one of the few countries where polio is still transmitted. This case does not indicate that the polio situation in the country is changing, but underlines the importance of vaccination for travellers to Pakistan.

Advice for Travellers

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

In addition, in order to comply with the WHOand ECDCrecommendations and also to avoid travellers being vaccinated in the polio-infected country, authorities in the UK have made the following vaccination recommendations.

In Scotland, Health Protection Scotland (HPS) advise:

  • Travellers can receive a booster dose of a polio-containing vaccine if they have not had one in the past 12 months and are visiting one of the polio-infected or potentially exporting countries for longer than 4 weeks (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.
  • Travellers visiting one of these countries for less than 4 weeks 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 WHOPlease see POLIO FAQ for further clarification.

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