Polio in Finland
24 Apr 2025
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
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
It is important to:
- be up to date with polio vaccinations as recommended for the UK vaccination schedule
- practice safe hand hygiene and food and water precautions during travel to reduce your risk of exposure to polio
If you are travelling to a country or area where polio remains a problem, you may need a booster dose of polio vaccine if it has been more than 10 years since your last booster.
- Please speak to a travel health professional to discuss.
For further information see the fitfortravel Finland country page and Poliomyelitis page.