The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 2 travel advisory for five European countries – the UK, Germany, Finland, Poland, and Spain – urging travellers to take enhanced precautions amid the resurfacing of poliovirus, a potentially fatal disease that targets the nervous system.

According to the Daily Mail UK, US federal health authorities have issued an urgent travel advisory regarding a potentially ‘crippling and deadly disease.’ While the virus had been eliminated from most developed nations, recent detections suggest its silent circulation, likely through wastewater samples. Travellers to these countries are advised to ensure their polio vaccinations are up to date or to take a booster shot before departure.

Why is polio a concern again?

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious viral illness transmitted through contaminated food, water, faeces, or respiratory droplets. In its most severe form, it can lead to permanent paralysis or death by respiratory failure.

Though roughly 90 percent of polio infections are asymptomatic, symptomatic cases can present as fever, nausea, muscle pain, stiffness in the neck and back, and in rare instances, life-threatening complications.

Is there a cure or prevention?

There is no cure for polio, but the disease is entirely preventable through immunisation. Multiple doses of the oral or injectable polio vaccine can provide lifetime protection. The World Health Organization declared the European region polio-free in 2002, but isolated detections in wastewater – such as in London in 2022 – have raised fresh concerns.

What’s the global status of polio?

Polio has been reported in 39 countries over the past year, particularly in parts of Africa and the Middle East. Pakistan, one of the last two countries where wild poliovirus remains endemic, continues to report cases in 2025, raising regional alert levels.