Abstract
In recent years, Germany and Switzerland have changed national policies to recommend vaccination with IPV (inactivated polio vaccine) instead of OPV (oral polio vaccine) for protection against poliomyelitis. An all IPV-schedule in routine childhood polio vaccination eliminates the - albeit minimal - risk of OPV-associated paralytic poliomyelitis. However, the impact of such a vaccination scheme on the goal to eventually eradicate poliomyelitis on a global level remains debatable. Published studies indicate that vaccine-derived poliovirus may persist in the environment for prolonged periods of time even after completion of a global eradication programme that relies on the near-exclusive use of OPV in the developing countries. Travellers vaccinated with IPV only might become silently infected with vaccine-derived virus, shedding it in large quantities. We therefore plead for a vaccination schedule that includes at least one last dose of OPV to induce strong mucosal immunity.
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