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5d ago

Germany Likely Experiencing Local Transmission of Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus

Reporting repeated detections at ten wastewater sites, the Robert Koch Institute is urging higher childhood polio vaccination coverage.

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In Abwasserproben mehrerer Städte sind erneut Polioviren nachgewiesen worden. Die aus Schluckimpfungen stammenden Polioviren wurden über mehrere Wochen hinweg und an mehreren Standorten unter anderem in Dresden, Mainz, München und Stuttgart entdeckt.

Overview

  • The Robert Koch Institute now judges human-to-human spread of weakened vaccine-derived poliovirus strains increasingly probable after sustained wastewater detections.
  • No paralytic polio cases have surfaced in Germany despite indicators of silent circulation across ten monitoring locations.
  • Genetic analysis links the detected strains to live viruses shed by recipients of oral polio vaccines used abroad.
  • Germany’s use of inactivated polio vaccine prevents disease but not infection or shedding, creating conditions for unnoticed transmission.
  • Immunization gaps worsened by COVID-19 disruptions leave just 21% of one-year-olds and 77% of two-year-olds fully protected, prompting calls for improved diagnostics and reporting.