Marked in conjunction with World Polio Day observed on October 24, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued an urgent public health call for nations across the Americas to close persistent polio immunization gaps and strengthen cross-regional disease surveillance, 35 years after the Western Hemisphere was formally certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus transmission.
While the region celebrated the landmark 1994 designation as the world’s first territory to eliminate local wild polio spread, PAHO data from 2025 shows that childhood immunization coverage remains well below the 95% global threshold required for herd immunity. Across the full Americas region, 91% of children received their first dose of the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), 89% completed the second dose, and only 87% received the full three-dose primary series. Though these figures represent a steady improvement over previous under-vaccination periods, they still fall short of the international protective target that blocks community circulation of the highly contagious neurotropic virus.
Suriname emerges as a key priority area in the PAHO update: latest joint WHO and UNICEF immunization estimates for 2025 show the country’s first-dose IPV coverage stands at just 78%, with full primary series completion reaching only 76%, far below the 95% benchmark. Health officials emphasize these low rates do not signal an ongoing polio outbreak in Suriname, but create a vulnerable population of under-protected children at elevated risk if the virus is introduced. To address these gaps, Suriname formally established its National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) in February 2026, a scientific advisory body that will deliver evidence-based policy guidance to the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Labor, with PAHO providing dedicated technical support and standardized operational guidelines.
PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa stressed that the region’s 30-plus year track record without a locally acquired wild polio case is a historic public health milestone that cannot be taken for granted. The last confirmed indigenous wild polio case in the Americas was recorded on August 23, 1991, in Peru, affecting an unvaccinated two-year-old child who developed permanent paralysis. That victory followed decades of coordinated mass vaccination campaigns, expanded equitable access to immunization services, and cross-border public health collaboration that drove reported polio cases down from nearly 6,000 across the region in 1975 to zero local transmission.
Global polio eradication efforts remain incomplete, however: wild poliovirus still circulates endemically in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As of October 20, 2026, 48 confirmed wild polio cases have been documented worldwide, with 42 in Afghanistan and 6 in Pakistan. As long as the virus persists anywhere on the planet, all under-vaccinated communities face importation risk, as the highly transmissible pathogen can re-establish local spread rapidly in populations with low immunity.
PAHO also highlighted critical gaps in regional polio surveillance systems. Standard public health monitoring for polio relies on tracking cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) – a sudden loss of muscle strength that serves as a key early warning marker for potential polio infection. The international surveillance standard requires a reporting rate of at least 1 AFP case per 100,000 children under the age of 15, but the Americas region recorded only 0.85 cases per 100,000 in the most recent 12-month reporting period, indicating under-detection that could delay identification of imported virus circulation.
Poliovirus is a highly contagious pathogen that disproportionately targets children under five, attacking the nervous system to cause permanent paralysis within days, and can prove fatal if it paralyzes respiratory muscles. No curative treatment exists for polio once symptoms appear, making full, timely vaccination the only effective protective measure. PAHO is urging all parents and caregivers to verify their children’s immunization schedules, catch up on any missed polio vaccine doses immediately, and support local public health efforts to maintain the region’s decades-long polio-free progress.
PAHO waarschuwt voor risico op terugkeer polio door achterblijvende vaccinatiegraad
