Polio in Finland

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 Finland.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare reported that a wastewater sample collected in the Tampere region tested positive for polio in November 2024.

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:

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

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