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Polio this week

Remembering a time before vaccination – polio altered their future

Read Éliane Fuseau’s moving and inspiring story of contracting polio as a three-year old child in rural France in 1948, and how the disease affected her life both as a child and an adult.

World Immunization Week 2026 – for every generation, vaccines work!

Next week is World Immunization Week, an opportunity for stakeholders to raise awareness about the importance of vaccines and vaccinations, including of course for polio eradication.  Help spread the word by amplifying GPEI-created social media content, available here.

Summary of new polioviruses this week:

  • Pakistan:  two WPV1-positive environmental samples
  • DR Congo:  one cVDPV2 case
  • Malawi:  one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample
  • Namibia:  one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample
  • Somalia:  one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample
  • Sudan:  two cVDPV2 cases and one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample
Country updates as of 22 April 2026

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

  • No WPV1 case was reported this week. The total number of cases in 2025 is 31. The total number of cases in 2026 is one (onset of paralysis: 10 February 2026).
  • Two WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported this week, from Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, both collected on 25 March 2026 (most recent positive environmental samples).

  • No cVDPV1 case was reported this week.  The number of cVDPV1 cases from 2025 is one (onset of paralysis: 25 June 2025).
  • One cVDPV2 case was reported this week, with onset of paralysis on 14 February 2026, from Maniema. The number of cVDPV2 cases in 2025 is six.  The number of cVDPV2 cases in 2026 is four (most recent case: 15 February 2026).

  • One cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported this week, from Southern province, collected on 19 February 2026 (most recent positive environmental sample).

  • One cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported this week, collected from Khomas on 3 March 2026 (most recent positive environmental sample).

  • No cVDPV2 case was reported this week. There are three cases reported in 2026 (most recent case: 20 February 2026). There have been two cases reported in 2025. 
  • One cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported this week, from Banadir, collected on 10 March 2026 (most recent positive environmental sample).

  • Two cVDPV2 cases were reported this week, from North Kordofan and Red Sea, with onsets of paralysis on 8 November 2025 and 20 January 2026, respectively.  There have been 12 cases reported for 2025.  There is one case reported for 2026 (most recent case:  20 January 2026).
  • One cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported this week, collected from Red Sea, on 31 January 2026 (most recent positive environmental sample:  28 February 2026).