Polio in Germany

On 6 March 2025 at the forty-first meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) on the international spread of poliovirus, the World Health Organization reported new emergence of poliovirus in Germany.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) have reported that since October 2024, wastewater samples collected from Bonn, Dresden, Duesseldorf, Mainz, Hamburg and Munich in Germany have tested positive for polio.

Advice for Travellers

Poliomyelitis is spread mainly through person to person contact via the faecal-oral route.

• All travellers should take care with personal and food and water hygiene.

Travellers visiting outbreak areas should be offered a booster dose of poliomyelitis vaccine if it has been more than 10 years since their last dose, and:

• may have close contact with those infected (e.g. carers, health care workers)
• at high occupational risk (e.g., laboratory workers, wastewater / sewage workers)
• travelling long term (> 4 weeks)

For further information see the TRAVAX Germany country page and Poliomyelitis page.