Polio this week – GPEI
Polio this week

Headlines 

  • World Immunization Week 2025, themed ‘Immunization for All is Humanly Possible’, wrapped up 30 April. The annual campaign coordinated by WHO aims to promote uptake of vaccines, raise awareness about their importance, safety and effectiveness, and encourage action to improve immunization access worldwide. During the week, we saw lot of buzz and great content on polio eradication — thank you to all who engaged with it. To view some of this content, please check out the WHO Polio X account and the new GPEI LinkedIn page. Be sure to like, follow and share!
  • Health ministers from across the Eastern Mediterranean Region met virtually with GPEI partners on 27 April for the 13th meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks, renewing an urgent call to end polio in the Region. More.

Summary of new polioviruses this week, cases and positive environmental isolates:

  • Pakistan: two WPV1 cases and 22 WPV1-positive environmental samples
  • Nigeria: three cVDPV2 cases
Country updates as of 23 April 2025

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

  • Two WPV1 cases were reported this week from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu and Torghar districts. There have been eight cases reported this year and the total number of cases for 2024 remains 74.
  • 22 WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported this week from Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces.

  • Three cVDPV2 cases, with onsets of paralysis in March, have been reported this week from Sokoto and Yobe states. There have been 14 cases reported in Nigeria in 2025. The number of cases from 2024 remains 98.
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental samples were reported this week.