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Polio this week

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Science in 5 podcast on polio eradication with Dr Jamal Ahmed

Polio once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children every year, striking fear into families across the world. Thanks to the global polio eradication efforts, cases have fallen by 99.9% since 1988. But polio is not gone yet.  In this episode of Science in 5, Dr. Jamal Ahmad, WHO Director for Polio Eradication, explains why polio eradication still matters, how close the world truly is to ending this disease forever, and what is at stake if we do not finish the job.

Summary of new polioviruses this week: 

  • Pakistan:  one WPV1 case
  • Germany:  two WPV1-positive environmental samples
  • Nigeria:  nine cVDPV2 cases, one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample, and five cVDPV3 cases
Country updates as of 21 January 2026

More information on the countries that have reported cases and/or environmental samples this week.

  • One WPV1 case was reported this week, with onset of paralysis on 14 December 2025, from North Waziristan, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  The total number of cases in 2025 is 31 (most recent case:  onset of paralysis on 14 December 2025). 
  • No WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported this week (most recent positive environmental sample:  17 December 2025).

  • Two WPV1 positive environmental samples are reported, collected one week apart on 7 and 13 October 2025 (most recent positive sample), from Hamburg, from the same collection site as the previously-reported WPV1-positive environmental sample collected on 6 October 2025.  The isolates are closely genetically linked.  There are no associated cases of paralysis and no evidence of local community transmission.
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental samples were reported this week (most recent positive environmental sample:  6 October 2025).

  • Nine cVDPV2 cases were reported this week, from Nasarawa, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kaduna, with onsets of paralysis in October and December 2025.  The total number of cases reported in 2025 is 62 (most recent case:  10 December 2025).
  • One cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported this week, from Sokoto, collected on 21 October 2025 (most recent positive environmental sample).
  • Five cVDPV3 cases are reported this week, from Kebbi, with onsets of paralysis in September, October and November 2025 (most recent:  26 November 2025).  These are the first cVDPV3 isolates ever reported from the country and, are a new emergence.
  • Large-scale immunization campaigns with bivalent OPV are planned for February and April 2025.