This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
CDC offers interim guidance on polio vaccination for travel
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The CDC is advising physicians of interim travel recommendations regarding polio vaccination, according to an MMWR report. The guidance was issued in light of WHO-recommended exit requirements for proof of polio vaccination before departing countries with circulating wild poliovirus.
Children, adolescents and adults who have documentation of a polio vaccine series should receive a booster dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine within 12 months of departure from a country with circulating wild poliovirus (WPV) if they have been there for more than 4 weeks, according to the guidelines. All polio vaccinations should be documented on an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, known as the WHO “yellow card.”
So far, Pakistan has implemented polio vaccination exit requirements. The other polio-exporting countries — Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Syria — are expected to implement similar requirements. Countries with circulating polio — Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Nigeria and Somalia — may also implement exit requirements.
The CDC has issued the guidance to ensure that travelers are prepared for the vaccination requirements when departing polio-exporting or polio-infected countries. The interim CDC recommendations are in line with the WHO International Health Regulations (IHR) temporary recommendations. The international spread of wild poliovirus (WPV) was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the IHR in May.
“This interim guidance is to ensure compliance with WHO International Health Regulations temporary recommendations for countries designated as ‘polio-infected’ to reduce the risk for exportation of WPV from those countries,” the CDC wrote.