Researchers have detected a high amount of poliovirus in several countries in Europe in recent months, triggering discussions about finding ways to keep Europe polio-free, according to an editorial by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). “A future without polio remains our goal, but it is by no means a certainty,” warned Director Pamela Rendi Wagner and World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge. The study was published in Eurosurveillance.
“Every country must remain vigilant to detect the presence of polioviruses through sensitive surveillance systems, prepared to act quickly if any circulation is detected, and committed to sustain high vaccination coverage in every community every year until global polio eradication has been achieved,” said Kluge and Rendi-Wagner. This follows the path of the European Immunization Agenda 2030, the GPEI Polio eradication strategy, and the Global Polio Surveillance Action Plan.
Polio was a threat to the health and wellbeing of children for centuries, but it has now been mostly forgotten in Europe thanks to successful vaccination programmes and extensive surveillance. Officially, Europe has been polio-free since 2002.
However, the virus still circulates in other areas of the world and can be imported into Europe. From 2015 through 2022, it was found in at least one country in Europe every year. More worryingly, in 2024, it was detected in the wastewater systems of 14 cities in five countries: Spain, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Finland.
These viruses are genetically linked to a lineage detected in Nigeria in 2020. The virus has travelled to 21 African countries and caused an outbreak in 15 of them. Currently, there is no evidence of widespread virus circulation in Europe. Still, it could lead to outbreaks if unvaccinated people are exposed to it, as recently happened in Tajikistan, Ukraine, Israel, and the United Kingdom.
Given this situation, the ECDC emphasises the need to maintain high national vaccination coverage in all European countries. The five countries that detected poliovirus in 2024 have high immunization levels in the general population, but they also have some communities that are vulnerable to the infection. The ECDC estimates that over 2 million children in the EU/EEA may not have been up to date with their vaccinations between 2012 and 2021, with an additional 600,000 children may have missed their vaccinations in 2022-2023.
To deal with this situation, the ECDC has published a Rapid Risk Assessment recommending urgent actions to prevent possible transmission of polioviruses. WHO Europe has also published guidance to help countries identify and track disparities in vaccination levels.
The ECDC is also committed to cooperating closely to support national and local public health authorities in stopping the virus. This includes technical guidance and resources for surveillance and outbreak response, facilitating data exchange and genetic sequencing of virus strains, and assisting in targeted risk communication and community engagement strategies to improve vaccination coverage.
“Europe remains committed to doing its part in the context of all relentless global efforts in this direction and has full capacity to do so successfully,” said Kluge and Rendi-Wagner.
Rendi-Wagner P and Kluge H. Poliovirus detections in Europe – urgent action needed to keep Europe polio-free. Euro Surveill.2025;30(4):pii=2500076. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2025.30.4.2500076