Polio in Ukraine

27 Jan 2022

The Ukrainian Ministry of Health has reported (in Ukrainian) a case of polio in a child from the Transcarpathia region in December 2021. Laboratory reports indicate the patient had a virus similar to one identified in a polio outbreak in Rivne region in October 2021.

Polio is a serious infection caused by the poliovirus. The virus lives in an infected person’s throat and intestines. It enters the body through the mouth and spreads through:

• contact with the poo from an infected person
• droplets from a cough or sneeze from an infected person, this is less common

You can become infected if you:

• have poo on your hands and you touch your mouth
• put objects in your mouth that are contaminated with the infected poo
• consume food and water that has been contaminated with the poo from an infected person

Advice for Travellers

There are vaccines that protect you from polio. If you are travelling to Ukraine, you should:

• practice safe hand hygiene and food and water precautions during travel to reduce your risk of exposure to polio virus
• consider having a booster dose of polio vaccine if it has been more than 10 years since your last booster

For further information see the fitfortravel Ukraine country page and Poliomyelitis page.