Polio Certificate Requirement Enforced for Travelers from Pakistan

According to a recent advisory from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), travelers traveling from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and various other nations must now present a valid certificate confirming their polio vaccination when planning a trip to Egypt.

According to Egyptian authorities, travelers from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malawi, Mozambique, and Congo who are heading to Egypt are required to present an international certificate of vaccination specifically for the polio vaccine, either OPV or IPV (both are permitted), as stated in a release by the CAA. Additionally, it was mentioned that travelers from specific countries who have been in Egypt for more than four weeks must also provide evidence of having received a polio vaccination as an entry requirement.

Last month, Pakistan’s efforts to reach a significant number of children with its polio eradication program raised concerns from the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee, which monitors the global spread of the poliovirus. The committee emphasized the shortcomings in Pakistan and Afghanistan’s efforts to eradicate polio during a meeting convened by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) on August 16, 2023. It highlighted the persistent risk of a polio outbreak in Pakistan, despite the positive environmental test results in Peshawar and Karachi. The committee noted that there has been another case of WPV1 reported in Pakistan since the previous meeting, bringing the total number of cases reported in 2023 to two.

Additional incidents occurred in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province all year. At least 15 samples from environmental surveillance tested positive. The committee continued, stating, “Although the action plan in southern KP has resulted in the immunization of an additional 160,000 children, the situation remains challenging due to political instability, insecurity in some areas requiring police patrols to accompany frontline workers, and vaccination boycotts in communities demanding other services in exchange for allowing polio vaccination. Dr. Nadeem Jan, the interim health minister of Pakistan, responded to the emergency committee’s statement by emphasizing the importance of expanding routine immunization and zero-dose coverage through outreach initiatives in the nation’s efforts to eradicate polio.

Since the last meeting, five additional WPV1 cases have been reported in Afghanistan, all of which originate from the Nangarhar province, according to the emergency committee. It was noted that these cases occurred in five separate districts, with onsets between April and May 2023. Due to significant population mobility, the emergency committee cautioned that “any setback in Afghanistan poses a risk to the polio eradication program in Pakistan.” The committee also observed a reduction in the number of genetic clusters of WPV1 in 2023, with only two identified, compared to three in 2022 and five in 2021.