At the 40th meeting, the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (IHR) reviewed the data on wild poliovirus (WPV1) and circulating vaccine derived polioviruses (cVDPV) in the context of the global target of interruption and certification of WPV1 eradication by 2027 and interruption and certification of cVDPV2 elimination by 2029. Technical updates were received about the situation in Afghanistan, Cameroon, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Pakistan, Spain and Zimbabwe.
The Committee unanimously agreed that the risk of international spread of poliovirus still remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and recommended the extension of Temporary Recommendations for a further three months.
Risk categories and advice aimed at reducing the risk of international spread of WPV1 and cVDPVs:
Wild poliovirus was reported in the following countries in 2024 and as of 2 Dec 2024:
Circulating vaccine derived poliovirus (cVDPV) in 2024 and as of 2 Dec 2024:
In 2024 and as of 8 November, approximately 480’000 chikungunya cases and 190 deaths have been reported worldwide.
The majority of countries reporting high chikungunya disease burden are from the Americas, especially in Brazil (403’726 cases, 190 deaths), Paraguay (2’744 cases), Argentina (768 cases, and Bolivia (418 cases).
In Asia, most cases are reported from India (69’544 cases), followed by Pakistan (4’964 cases and Thailand (584 cases).
In Africa, in 2024, chikungunya cases were reported from Senegal and La Réunion.
Of note, chikungunya is endemic in most subtropical and tropical countries, even if this is not shown on this map.
Within the last 12 months (November 2023 to October 2024), the notification rate of chikungunya cases per 100’000 population was reported as follows:
Optimal mosquito protection 24/7 (during the day against dengue, zika, chikungunya etc., at dusk and at night against malaria). In case of fever, ensure adequate hydrations and apply paracetamol products. If you have a fever, avoid taking medications containing acetylsalicylic acid (e.g., Aspirin®), as this can increase the risk of bleeding during a dengue infection. However, do not stop taking medications containing acetylsalicylic acid if it is already part of your regular treatment for an underlying condition.
In case of fever, malaria should be ruled out by blood tests.
In the past 3 months, vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) was detected in sewage samples in Barcelona, Spain; Warsaw, Poland; and Bonn, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Hamburg, Cologne, Mainz and Munich, Germany. The detected virus is genetically linked to a strain that emerged in Nigeria. This strain is circulating in several countries outside the Region, most widely in North and West Africa.
In all 3 countries in the European Region, the virus was isolated from environmental (sewage) samples only – no associated paralytic cases of polio have been detected.
Germany, Poland and Spain maintain strong disease surveillance and high levels of routine immunization coverage, estimated at 85–93% nationally with 3 doses of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which provides excellent protection from paralysis caused by poliovirus.
However, pockets of undervaccination exist in every country.
The detection of VDPV2 in wastewater is not surprising. People can shed the virus if they come from or have travelled to countries where oral poliovirus vaccine is still used. The risk for vaccinated people in Germany is very low due to the high vaccination coverage against polio.
For all individuals, including refugees and migrants: routine vaccination against polio according to national guidelines is important (Swiss FOPH recommendations |STIKO, Germany recommendations). Travellers going to countries where wild poliovirus or polio vaccine virus is endemic should get vaccinated against polio, see recommendations on the country pages at www.healthytravel.ch.
In 2024, 22’379 cases of whooping cough have been reported to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) so far, already the highest annual number of cases since the nationwide reporting requirement was introduced in 2013. The average weekly incidence from 2020 to 2024 is twice as high as in the pre-pandemic years 2015 to 2019.
Pertussis incidence: cases per 100’000 population and week:
This is a reminder that a travel medicine consultation is an opportunity to check pertussis vaccination status.
Swiss recommendations: After the basic immunization against pertussis, booster doses are recommended in adolescents (11-15 years) and adults (25-29 years). Booster vaccination is also indicated in every pregnancy. In addition, adolescents and adults of all ages should receive a pertussis vaccination if there is regular contact with infants under 6 months of age due to work or family and the last vaccination against pertussis was 10 years ago or longer.
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