Poliomyelitis is a viral disease that causes paralysis.  transmission of the infection occurs through contamination of food and water by infected human faeces or by direct contact with an infected person.  Polio is a vaccine-preventable infection.

In the UK, polio is very rare and the last imported case occurred in 1993. However, those at high risk include anyone visiting family and friends overseas, those in contact with an infectious person, long-stay travellers, and those visiting places that have poor sanitation.

In 1988 polio commonly happened in more than 125 countries on five continents, with over 1,000 children paralysed daily. However, since the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988, the number of worldwide Polio infections has gone down by more than 99 percent. In countries where polio commonly occurred, the rate has reduced from 125 to two; these countries are Afghanistan and Pakistan. The rest of the world is still at risk of polio importation since several countries still report imported polio cases.

Most people (about 95 percent) who get polio are asymptomatic. When symptoms occur they may vary from a mild sickness with fever to signs of meningitis (inflammation of the brains’ lining) or paralysis. Although the probability of paralysis is below one percent of infections it is often long-lasting.

Prevention

Effective and successful vaccination against polio is currently available. In addition to vaccines, travellers should make sure they observe good personal hygiene and adhere to the guidance on the prevention of food and water-borne diseases.

Polio Vaccine

The main target of the vaccination programme is to offer a minimum of five doses of a polio-containing vaccine at suitable intervals to everyone. For adults and children above 10 years, who have not been vaccinated in the past, a three-dose course of vaccinations can be offered to them.

Polio vaccine is indicated for:

– everybody aged 2 months and above as part of the UK routine vaccination schedule.
– anyone who had their last dose of polio vaccine 10 or more years ago and is travelling to regions or countries where there were recent reports of wild polio.
– people at risk of exposure through their work, e.g. some healthcare officials and microbiology laboratory staff.

Presently, temporary measures are in place to lower the spread of poliovirus internationally. In September 2004, inactivated polio vaccines (IPV) replaced oral polio vaccine (OPV) in UK routine immunisation schedules.

Duration of protection

In most cases, five doses of a polio-containing vaccine given at the appropriate intervals offer protection for life in the UK. However, anyone who had their polio vaccine 10 or more years ago and is travelling to regions or countries where polio cases have been reported recently should get a booster dose.