Americas urged to close polio vaccination and surveillance gaps after 35 polio-free years
The Pan American Health Organization has urged countries across the Americas to close remaining vaccination and surveillance gaps as the region marks 35 years without a case of polio caused by wild poliovirus. Its update, issued on 23 October, presents the milestone alongside 2025 coverage figures that remain below the regional target for all three routine doses of inactivated polio vaccine.
The last recorded case of wild poliovirus in the Americas was in Peru on 23 August 1991. The region was certified free of wild poliovirus transmission in 1994, becoming the first in the world to receive that status. The organisation said the achievement reflects decades of vaccination, surveillance and cooperation between countries, but should not be regarded as permanent protection without continued work.
Coverage has improved but remains short of the target
In 2025, 91% of children in the region received a first dose of inactivated polio vaccine, 89% received a second dose and 87% received a third dose. Each figure was below the recommended 95% threshold. The first-dose figure was up from 86% in 2024, while the second dose rose from 87%. Third-dose coverage increased from 85% in 2024 and 80% in 2021.
Those gains point to recovery from the disruption to routine immunisation during the COVID-19 pandemic. They do not, however, remove the gap to the regional target. Completing the full course matters because a first dose alone is not the measure used for the target, and the lowest of the three reported figures was for the third dose.
The current regional estimates cover data up to 2025. They draw on annual country reporting and also include estimates for countries that did not report that year. In those cases, the estimate is extrapolated from the latest point informed by empirical data. This means the figures are designed to show the regional coverage picture, rather than a simple count of vaccinations delivered in a single reporting period.
Surveillance is a separate part of protection
Vaccination is only one part of maintaining polio-free status. Health authorities also watch for acute flaccid paralysis, a sudden loss of muscle strength that may have a number of causes but is an important warning sign for polio. Each reported case is investigated to rule out poliovirus. A sensitive system is more likely to find and examine a possible case quickly if one occurs.
Over the past year, countries in the Americas reported 0.85 acute flaccid paralysis cases per 100,000 children under 15. That was below the surveillance target of at least one case per 100,000 children. The figure is not a count of confirmed polio cases. It is a measure used to assess whether surveillance is sensitive enough to detect and investigate potential cases.
Risk remains while the virus circulates elsewhere
The regional body said the absence of wild poliovirus in the Americas does not remove the risk of importation while the virus continues to circulate in other parts of the world. It reported that endemic transmission remained in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As of 20 October, 48 cases of wild poliovirus had been reported globally in 2026, including 42 in Afghanistan and six in Pakistan.
Polio mainly affects children under five and can invade the nervous system, causing irreversible paralysis. There is no cure, but vaccination can prevent the disease. The organisation said sustaining high and equitable coverage, alongside effective surveillance, is necessary to stop any imported virus gaining a foothold in communities with lower protection.
Its World Polio Day message asks parents and caregivers to check that children are up to date with recommended polio vaccinations and to complete missed doses. The update does not report wild-poliovirus transmission in the Americas. Instead, it sets out the work still required to preserve a public-health achievement that the region has held for three and a half decades.
