Is polio coming back to Germany?

First of all, what was found in the wastewater were not so-called wild types of poliomyelitis viruses, which are basically considered extinct in our country. What was found were attenuated pathogens from vaccines. You need to know this: In Germany, vaccines that cause the vaccinated person to excrete viruses have not been used for a long time. It must therefore be assumed that the viruses found originate from vaccines that are still frequently used in other parts of the world, e.g. in Africa.

Purely theoretically, these attenuated viruses are infectious, so that if vaccination protection is inadequate, infection would - purely theoretically - be possible, albeit very unlikely. And then you also need to know that, fortunately, this dreaded paralysis only really occurs in around one in two hundred cases of poliomyelitis infection.

The bottom line is that, as things stand today (December 2024), the Robert Koch Institute does not believe there is an increased risk.

But, and this is the most important message here: It is extremely important to ensure that everyone's polio vaccination is good and up to date - for children and adults alike, because polio is not a childhood disease and adults can also get it. With intact immunisation protection, infection with attenuated pathogens is not possible.

The vaccination has been around for a very long time, it is very, very well tolerated and is usually administered in combination with tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. So, the appeal is: Just check whether everyone is up to date.