Polio in Zambia

22 Oct 2019

On 20 October 2019, the World Health Organisation reported a case of polio in Chienge district, Luapula province near the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo. The patient is a two-year-old boy who became paralysed on 16 July 2019.

Advice for Travellers

The World Health Organisation recommends that "all travellers to polio-affected areas be fully vaccinated against polio. Residents (and visitors for more than 4 weeks) from infected areas should receive an additional dose of OPV or inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) within 4 weeks to 12 months of travel."

Travellers to polio-affected areas should be offered a booster of poliomyelitis vaccine if it has been more than 10 years since their last dose.

For further information see Poliomyelitis.