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.
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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).
Contagious Period: Varies by disease
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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
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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
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
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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
📰 13 news sources reporting on this story.
According to the health officials, more than 1 lakh children below the age of five were administered oral polio vaccine across Ludhiana district on Sunday as the National Pulse Polio immunisation campaign begins.
The campaign was inaugurated at civil hospital by civil surgeon Dr Ramandeep Kaur and district immunisation officer Dr Harpreet Singh, who administered the first doses to children.
According to the health department, 1,01,571 children received the life-saving polio drops at booths acro
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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
📰 14 news sources reporting on this story.
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
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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
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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
📰 13 news sources reporting on this story.
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View WHO Resources →Disease information on Virus Watcher is reviewed by our Chief Epidemiologist, a former CDC lead analyst for FluSight forecasting. Outbreak data is aggregated from verified sources including BEACON, ProMED, WHO, CDC, and 50+ national health agencies. This information is for educational purposes and should not replace professional medical advice.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-18
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