Globally, as of 9 August, 19 cases of polio due to wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and 223 cases due to circulating vaccine derived poliovirus (cVDPV) have been reported this year. In 2022, the cVDPV cases have been reported in 15 countries, with 93% of the cases attributed to cVDPV type 2 (cVDPV2).
Polio is an infectious disease mostly contracted by children. One in two hundred people develop incurable paralysis after infection. In 1955, a vaccine was invented and was introduced on a wide scale. Thanks to global efforts, polio was eliminated from the Western Hemisphere by 1994, and has greatly decreased worldwide.
European Immunization Week (EIW) is marked across the European Region every April. It aims to raise awareness of the importance of immunisation for people’s health and well-being. ECDC supports the European Immunization Week campaign lead by WHO/Europe by providing scientific evidence on immunisation.