Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in a wastewater sample in Hamburg. This marks the first detection of wild poliovirus since routine environmental sampling began in 2021 and the first detection in Europe since 2007, when it was found in Switzerland, as well as in Russia and Tajikistan in 2010.
No human cases of poliomyelitis have been reported in Germany; the last indigenous case occurred over 30 years ago, in 1990. The last two imported cases were detected in 1992 from travelers with a history of travel to and from India and Egypt. Since late 2024, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) has also been detected in wastewater samples from multiple locations in Germany.
The genome sequence of the isolate from the wastewater in Hamburg shows a very strong similarity to a genetic cluster in Afghanistan, as analyses in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) have shown. The wastewater sample was taken on 6 October 2025 (calendar week 41/2025) and analysed as part of the research project to detect polioviruses in wastewater (PIA).
Globally, WPV1 remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The risk for the general population is considered as low due to the high vaccination coverage in Germany. However, unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated individuals may be at risk for polio.
For all individuals, including refugees and migrants: routine vaccination against polio according to national guidelines is important (Swiss FOPH recommendations | STIKO, Germany recommendations).
Travellers going to countries where wild poliovirus or polio vaccine virus is endemic should get vaccinated against polio, see recommendations on the country pages at www.healthytravel.ch.