Countries Affected by Polio (February 2025)

Wild Poliovirus (WPV) - Any Type

Wild poliovirus (WPV) refers to naturally occurring poliovirus strains, primarily type 1 (WPV1), as types 2 (WPV2) and 3 (WPV3) have been eradicated globally. WPV is considered endemic in only two countries, with additional countries reporting imported cases or environmental detections.

Countries with Endemic WPV1 (2 countries)

• Pakistan: 63 WPV1 cases in 2024, 2 cases in 2025 (GPEI, December 2024; The Tribune, February 13, 2025). Environmental detections in 21 districts, including Muzaffarabad, Dera Bugti, and Karachi East (Dawn, February 9, 2025).
• Afghanistan: 24 WPV1 cases in 2024, ongoing transmission linked to Pakistan due to cross-border movement (DW, January 24, 2025; NDTV, January 26, 2025).

Countries with Imported WPV1 or Environmental Detections (0 countries currently)

No additional countries reported WPV1 cases in 2025 beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, historical importations have occurred in neighboring regions due to population movement (WHO, 2024).

Note: Malawi and Mozambique reported WPV1 cases in 2022, linked to Pakistan, but no cases have been reported since 2022 (GPEI, 2024).

Total Countries with WPV (Any Type): 2 (Pakistan, Afghanistan).

Context: WPV2 was globally eradicated in 1999, and WPV3 in 2019, leaving WPV1 as the only remaining wild strain (WHO, 2015, 2019). Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last endemic countries for WPV1, with challenges including security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and cross-border transmission (Washington Post, January 29, 2025; DW, January 24, 2025).

Circulating Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus (cVDPV) - Any Type

Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) emerges in under-immunized populations when the weakened virus in the oral polio vaccine (OPV) mutates and regains neurovirulence. cVDPV2 is the most prevalent type, but cVDPV1 and cVDPV3 also occur.

Countries with cVDPV2 (38 countries, January 2023–June 2024, with ongoing detections)

Africa (30 countries)

• Angola
• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Côte d’Ivoire
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• The Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Kenya
• Liberia
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Mozambique
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Republic of Congo
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• South Sudan
• Tanzania
• Togo
• Uganda
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Eastern Mediterranean (4 countries)

• Djibouti
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Yemen

Europe (1 country)

• Ukraine

Western Pacific (1 country)

• Philippines

Americas (2 countries)

• United States (environmental detections in New York, 2022–2024)
• Dominican Republic (linked to U.S. detections)

Additional Recent Detections (Post-June 2024)

• Spain: cVDPV2 isolated in Barcelona, September 2024 (Vax-Before-Travel, December 30, 2024).
• United Kingdom: cVDPV2-positive environmental samples in London, November–December 2024 (Vax-Before-Travel, December 30, 2024).
• Indonesia: cVDPV2 cases reported from October 2022 to February 2023, with ongoing risk (WHO, November 2022).

Countries with cVDPV1 (3 countries, January 2023–June 2024)

Africa (3 countries)

• Democratic Republic of the Congo: 111 cases in 2023, 5 in 2024 (CDC, October 17, 2024).
• Madagascar: Last detection in September 2023 (CDC, October 17, 2024).
• Mozambique: Last detection in 2023 (CDC, October 17, 2024).

Countries with cVDPV3 (0 countries, January 2023–June 2024)

No countries reported cVDPV3 cases during this period (CDC, October 17, 2024).

Total Countries with cVDPV (Any Type): 39 (38 with cVDPV2, 3 with cVDPV1, with overlap in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and Mozambique).

Context: cVDPV2 is the most prevalent type, with 70 outbreaks in 38 countries during January 2023–June 2024 (CDC, October 17, 2024). cVDPV emerges in under-immunized populations, and mitigation efforts include the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) (WHO, 2024).