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CDC updates polio vaccination guidelines for travelers to infected countries
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The CDC recently issued a health advisory, recommending an inactivated poliovirus booster for adult travelers to countries with active wild poliovirus circulation.
US health officials are trying to align their vaccination recommendations with those of WHO, which declared the international spread of polio to be a public health emergency of international concern on May 5. WHO issued vaccination requirements to residents and long-term visitors to countries with active polio transmission to curtail the spread of the disease. The onus is now on these countries, which are bound by the International Health Regulations, to comply with WHO vaccination requirements.
The US government is not expected to issue any requirements for entry into the United States, according to the CDC.
In the advisory, the CDC urged clinicians to be aware of possible new polio vaccination requirements for patients who intend to travel for more than 4 weeks to countries affected by the disease. These countries include Cameroon, Pakistan and the Syrian Arab Republic, which have exported wild poliovirus (WPV) and must ensure polio boosters 4 to 52 weeks before travel in all departing residents and long-term travelers of more than 4 weeks. An additional seven countries that are infected with WPV but have not exported the disease — Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Somalia and Nigeria — are encouraged to ensure polio vaccination boosters among residents and long-term travelers.
These vaccination requirements are temporary, and WHO will re-evaluate its position in about 3 months. However, US health officials are unsure how or if these countries will comply.
The CDC recommends that any US citizen who travels to infected countries should have receipt of their booster dose documented in their yellow International Certificate of Vaccination to avoid travel delays.
From January to April 2014 — considered the low season for polio transmission — new cases were still reported in Asia, the Middle East and central Africa. The high-risk transmission season has already begun. If left unchecked, the disease could “multiply considerably,” according to the CDC.
“The consequences of further international spread are particularly acute today given that several countries with complex humanitarian emergencies or other major challenges are bordering the infected countries,” the advisory stated.
CDC guidance on polio vaccination for travel can be found here.