Poliomyelitis, paralytic is a severe infectious disease caused by the poliovirus, an enterovirus. It primarily affects young children and can lead to permanent muscle paralysis. While once a global scourge, it is now rare in most parts of the world due to widespread vaccination.
Poliomyelitis has afflicted humans for millennia, with evidence found in ancient Egyptian mummies. The disease surged in epidemics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, causing widespread panic due to its paralytic effects. The development of effective vaccines in the 1950s by Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin revolutionized public health, leading to a dramatic decline in cases and near-eradication efforts globally.
Poliomyelitis primarily spreads through the fecal-oral route, meaning the virus is shed in the feces of an infected person and then ingested by another. This can occur through contaminated food or water, or direct contact with feces from an infected person. Less commonly, it can spread via the oral-oral route (e.g., through droplets from a cough or sneeze).
Période de Contagiosité : Varies by disease
4 countries with reported activity. Updated from real-time surveillance data.
1 state with reported activity. Click a state for detailed surveillance.
Renseignements en temps réel issus de la surveillance sanitaire mondiale et de la surveillance par IA
Sources de données : BEACON, ProMED, OMS, CDC et plus de 50 agences nationales de santé
✓ Données en direct mises à jour en temps réel depuis les sources de santé mondiales
Nearly 4.9 lakh children under 5 years of age will be covered between June 28 and July 2 under the National Pulse Polio campaign, the district health department has said. The arrangements were reviewed on Wednesday during a meeting of the district task force, chaired by assistant commissioner (general) Payal Goyal and civil surgeon Dr Ramandeep Kaur. Representatives of various government departments attended the meeting.
Directing officials to work in close coordination, Goyal emphasised that no
đź“° 50 news sources reporting on this story.
Islamabad, May 1 (PTI) Pakistan reported two polio cases on Friday, taking the tally of infections for the ongoing year to three and serving a blow to the national efforts to eradicate the crippling disease.
The new cases were detected in Bannu and North Waziristan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Taliban militants often target officials administering anti-polio vaccines to the children.
"Pakistan's National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication (NEOC) has confirm
đź“° 13 news sources reporting on this story.
Australia was declared free from polio in 2000. The last case of poliomyelitis caused by locally acquired wild poliovirus in Australia was in 1972. In April 2026, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was detected in wastewater in Perth, Western Australia, thought to be from a traveler from affected region who may be shedding the virus.
Source: BEACON - View Full Report
Albert Sabin concluded that the global elimination of polio required an oral vaccine comprising weakened, live viruses.
In the summer of 1916, a major polio epidemic in the U.S. left almost 6,000 people dead and 20,000 permanently paralyzed. The outbreak began in New York City, and its severity prompted unprecedented moves by authorities to control transmission of the disease: On July 4, a New York Times headline proclaimed, "Ban All Children From Movies in Paralysis War."
Polio is a highly inf
đź“° 13 news sources reporting on this story.
Routine public health surveillance has detected two distinct strains of polio virus in Cape Town's wastewater.
Routine public health surveillance has detected two distinct strains of polio virus in Cape Town's wastewater, prompting an increase in monitoring but no cause for public alarm.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) informed the Department of Health after identifying the VDPV3 and nOPV2-L strains during proactive, population-wide disease tracking at a local wastewater
đź“° 11 news sources reporting on this story.
A poliovirus strain has been detected in Australian wastewater for the first time, triggering a surge in testing for the debilitating disease.
Poliovirus was found in a wastewater sample taken from a Perth wastewater catchment last month, as part of the national polio surveillance.
In response, the Western Australian Government has increased testing to weekly at the inner city Subiaco wastewater plant for the next six months.
WA Health will also work with clinicians to strengthen existing syst
đź“° 12 news sources reporting on this story.
The Kwara State Government has reaffirmed its resolve to strengthen immunisation efforts as part of a broader strategy to combat polio and other preventable childhood diseases across the state.
The Deputy Governor, Kayode Alabi, made this known in Ilorin, the state capital, on Thursday during a review meeting on the Abuja Commitment, where stakeholders, including local government chairmen, traditional rulers, and development partners, assessed progress on routine immunisation.
Represented by th
đź“° 11 news sources reporting on this story.
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An Intensive Pulse Polio Immunisation camp will be conducted across Coimbatore district on June 28, 2026, as part of the government's continued efforts to ensure complete eradication of polio.
According to a press release from the district administration, around 2.97 lakh children below the age of five years have been targeted for immunisation this year. During the previous campaign, polio drops were administered to 3.01 lakh children.
A total of 1,615 pulse polio booths have been established a
Stakeholders in Gombe State have called for increased media support to boost awareness and acceptance of immunisation programmes ahead of the May round of the Supplemental Immunisation Plus Days.
The call was made on Thursday during a media engagement with journalists and social media influencers organised by the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency in collaboration with partners, including the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, World Health Organisation and United Na
đź“° 14 news sources reporting on this story.
KARACHI: Five environmental samples have recently tested positive for the poliovirus in the city, a top health department official said on Wednesday at a consultation held ahead of an upcoming polio booster dose campaign, emphasising the need for a strengthened response.
The campaign targeting children up to 10 years of age in 89 union committees of Karachi is scheduled for May 12-25.
The session organised at the Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology (SICHN) brought together senior pa
đź“° 14 news sources reporting on this story.
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Informations fiables provenant des principales organisations de santé
Directives officielles des Centers for Disease Control and Prevention des États-Unis
Voir les Ressources du CDC →Surveillance mondiale des maladies et directives de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé
Voir les Ressources de l'OMS →Les informations sur les maladies sur Virus Watcher sont révisées par notre Épidémiologiste en Chef, ancien analyste principal du CDC pour les prévisions FluSight. Les données épidémiques sont agrégées à partir de sources vérifiées notamment BEACON, ProMED, OMS, CDC et plus de 50 agences nationales de santé. Ces informations sont à des fins éducatives et ne doivent pas remplacer les conseils médicaux professionnels.
Dernière révision : 2026-06-29
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