--- title: Polio Virus Detected In São Paulo Sewage, No Human Case Reported description: A strain of the polio virus has been found in the Brazilian municipality of Campinas, host to the Portuguese and Nigerian national teams canonical: https://time.com/2917295/polio-brazil-campinas-who/ author: Mirren Gidda article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-24T15:20:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:35:22.385Z article:section: Health og:title: Polio Virus Detected In São Paulo Sewage, No Human Case Reported og:description: A strain of the polio virus has been found in the Brazilian municipality of Campinas, host to the Portuguese and Nigerian national teams og:url: https://time.com/2917295/polio-brazil-campinas-who/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt266731cfa0e1ea8e/698698fb169ab0124e27a0bd/poliovirus_type_1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Poliovirus, Tem og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Polio Virus Detected In São Paulo Sewage, No Human Case Reported twitter:description: A strain of the polio virus has been found in the Brazilian municipality of Campinas, host to the Portuguese and Nigerian national teams twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt266731cfa0e1ea8e/698698fb169ab0124e27a0bd/poliovirus_type_1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Polio Virus Discovered in Brazilian Sewage by [Mirren Gidda](https://time.com/author/mirren-gidda/) ## Mirren Gidda Jun 24, 2014 3:20 PM UTC  Poliovirus. Transmission Electron Micrograph Of Poliovirus Type 1. Poliovirus. Transmission Electron Micrograph Of Poliovirus Type 1.BSIP/UIG/Getty Images by [Mirren Gidda](https://time.com/author/mirren-gidda/) ## Mirren Gidda Jun 24, 2014 3:20 PM UTC The polio virus has been found in sewage samples collected in March from Viracopos International Airport, in Campinas, the [World Health Organization](http://www.who.int/csr/don/2014%5F6%5F23polio/en/) reported on Monday. No human case has been discovered. Campinas, which is part of São Paulo state, is the team base camp for both the Portuguese and Nigerian soccer teams during the FIFA World Cup tournament. The strain, wild poliovirus type 1, is a close match to one recently isolated in Equatorial Guinea. The WHO said that the “virus has been detected in the sewage only” and that “no case of paralytic polio has been reported.” Brazil has been free from polio since 1989\. The disease, which can be prevented by vaccination, attacks the nervous system and can result in rapid paralysis. It is most dangerous to young children. The Brazilian Health Ministry commented: “This detection does not mean any change in the epidemiological situation of Brazil or a threat to the elimination of the disease.” Health authorities in Brazil are reported to be looking for any un-immunized persons as well as potential cases of paralytic polio. Immunization in São Paulo state is higher than 95% with the last national vaccination in June 2013. This is not Campinas’ first health scare. In May, [AFP](http://news.yahoo.com/world-cup-city-gripped-dengue-fever-060427875--sow.html) reported that the city was battling an outbreak of dengue fever which killed three people. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2917295/polio-brazil-campinas-who/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2917295/polio-brazil-campinas-who/"},"headline":"Polio Virus Discovered in Brazilian Sewage","datePublished":"2014-06-24T15:20:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:35:22.385Z","description":"Found in Campinas in São Paulo state, host to the Portuguese and Nigerian soccer teams during the FIFA World Cup","url":"https://time.com/2917295/polio-brazil-campinas-who/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","brazil","World Health Organization","polio","World Cup"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt266731cfa0e1ea8e/698698fb169ab0124e27a0bd/poliovirus_type_1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mirren Gidda","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mirren-gidda/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt266731cfa0e1ea8e/698698fb169ab0124e27a0bd/poliovirus_type_1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Poliovirus, Tem","caption":"Poliovirus, Tem","creditText":"BSIP/UIG/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2917295/polio-brazil-campinas-who/","name":"Polio Virus Discovered in Brazilian Sewage"}}]}] ```