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Provisional Agenda
Polio facts

Countries at Risk of Polio

So long as a single child remains infected with poliovirus, children in all countries are at risk of contracting the disease. The poliovirus can be easily reimported into a country and spread rapidly.

At the end of 1999, there were 30 remaining polio-infected countries.

Twenty three had confirmed wild poliovirus: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d´Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, India, Iraq, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Mali, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Seven were likely to have wild virus circulating but surveillance was not necessarily detecting it: Burkina Faso, Congo, DPR Korea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Somalia.

In addition, three countries had importations: China, Iran and Myanmar.*
* status from information available July 2000

There are ten highest priority countries, and they fall into two categories.

1. 'Poliovirus reservoirs' where transmission is particularly intense. These countries are characterized by large populations with low routine immunization coverage and poor sanitation. They are Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
2. Countries affected by conflict, where implementation of vaccination and surveillance activities is particularly challenging. They are Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Sudan.

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