OPV mandatory for travelers

The oral polio vaccine has been made mandatory for all travelers across all age groups visiting polio-endemic countries such as Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Syria, Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria and Pakistan. The new regulation, which came into effect from March 1, is aimed at preventing re-entry of polio virus from these countries. The Union government has declared that any case of poliovirus would be treated as an emergency and high-quality surveillance has been putin place to detect any untoward importation of the poliovirus into India. Though India has not reported any case of polio for the last three years, the risk of polio persists as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria continue to be polio-endemic, re-infecting six countries in 2013 and causing outbreaks in the Horn of Africa region and the Middle East.