Countries around the world are reporting wastewater detections of poliovirus. The United Kingdom recently reported 3 wastewater detections of poliovirus type 2, while Germany reported 6 wastewater detections in 6 different cities. Other detections in Finland, Spain, and Poland have been reported recently as well. In general, the European countries that have reported virus detections since September have strong disease surveillance and high routine immunization levels. Meanwhile, Pakistan has reported 3 wild poliovirus type 1 cases, in which patients had paralysis onsets in November, and Afghanistan has reported more than 60 cases of polio this year, according to an analysis of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative updates published in CIDRAP.
Where to look: Global polio reports can be found on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative website. The group notes that Europe has been free of endemic polio since 2002.