For the first time in almost 40 years, health officials detected polio in the UK..Health officials declared a national incident and asked people to check if they were vaccinated against polio..Polio normally affects younger children but adults can catch the disease as it is highly contagious and can infect the spinal cord causing paralysis and breathing difficulties..The last “wild case” was detected in 1984 and they declared the UK polio-free in 2003 until now..The UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) detected polio in sewage from North and East London back in February 2022..Normally this isolated incident would not be an issue, however, in April and May, a mutated version of the same strain from February was found..What this suggests is an ongoing spread of polio from one person to another over several months that has allowed the virus to adapt..A UKHSA report suggested that some “closely linked” individuals in North and East London are spreading the virus..“The detection of a VDPV2 (poliovirus) suggests it is likely there has been some spread between closely linked individuals in North and East London and that they are now shedding the type 2 poliovirus strain in their feces,” said the UKHSA report..“The virus has only been detected in sewage samples and no associated cases of paralysis have been reported … but investigations will aim to establish if any community transmission is occurring.”.Health officials urge parents to vaccinate their kids for polio immediately..Government data shows that in parts of England, over 50% of teens are not vaccinated for polio..In London, 10% of five-year-old kids are not vaccinated for polio and 35% of 14-year-olds have not had their polio booster shot..Other areas around the UK with low polio vaccination rates include Nottingham, Leicester, Middlesbrough, and Torbay..During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccinations were still offered but at a slower rate than normal, causing some areas of the UK to have low polio vaccination rates..Health officials are worried as it has been decades since doctors looked for the polio virus symptoms and there could be misdiagnosed patients..That could be why no human cases have been found yet..The health officials speculated that a vaccinated individual came across the live virus while travelling in parts of the world where polio still exists and after returning to the UK, the virus spread in London..One of the health ministers, Lord Syed Kamall, said it may be possible to find the individuals with the virus by tracing the sewage pipes back to individual homes..“It is mixed up with a lot of stuff and what we have got to try and work out now is how we go along the pipes and investigate individual pipes to see whether we can locate the source,” said Lord Kamall..“In theory, it might be possible to find individual households and streets, but it is too early. This is really world-beating in what we are doing here. It is a first and it shows that we are ahead, but one of the issues with being ahead is that we detect things that would not have been detected earlier.”.UKHSA Epidemiologist Dr. Vanessa Saliba said the risk is very low for the public. .“Vaccine-derived poliovirus is rare and the risk to the public overall is extremely low. Vaccine-derived poliovirus has the potential to spread, particularly in communities where vaccine uptake is lower,” said Dr. Saliba..“On rare occasions, it can cause paralysis in people who are not fully vaccinated so if you or your child are not up to date with your polio vaccinations it’s important you contact your general practitioner to catch up or if unsure check your red book.”
For the first time in almost 40 years, health officials detected polio in the UK..Health officials declared a national incident and asked people to check if they were vaccinated against polio..Polio normally affects younger children but adults can catch the disease as it is highly contagious and can infect the spinal cord causing paralysis and breathing difficulties..The last “wild case” was detected in 1984 and they declared the UK polio-free in 2003 until now..The UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) detected polio in sewage from North and East London back in February 2022..Normally this isolated incident would not be an issue, however, in April and May, a mutated version of the same strain from February was found..What this suggests is an ongoing spread of polio from one person to another over several months that has allowed the virus to adapt..A UKHSA report suggested that some “closely linked” individuals in North and East London are spreading the virus..“The detection of a VDPV2 (poliovirus) suggests it is likely there has been some spread between closely linked individuals in North and East London and that they are now shedding the type 2 poliovirus strain in their feces,” said the UKHSA report..“The virus has only been detected in sewage samples and no associated cases of paralysis have been reported … but investigations will aim to establish if any community transmission is occurring.”.Health officials urge parents to vaccinate their kids for polio immediately..Government data shows that in parts of England, over 50% of teens are not vaccinated for polio..In London, 10% of five-year-old kids are not vaccinated for polio and 35% of 14-year-olds have not had their polio booster shot..Other areas around the UK with low polio vaccination rates include Nottingham, Leicester, Middlesbrough, and Torbay..During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccinations were still offered but at a slower rate than normal, causing some areas of the UK to have low polio vaccination rates..Health officials are worried as it has been decades since doctors looked for the polio virus symptoms and there could be misdiagnosed patients..That could be why no human cases have been found yet..The health officials speculated that a vaccinated individual came across the live virus while travelling in parts of the world where polio still exists and after returning to the UK, the virus spread in London..One of the health ministers, Lord Syed Kamall, said it may be possible to find the individuals with the virus by tracing the sewage pipes back to individual homes..“It is mixed up with a lot of stuff and what we have got to try and work out now is how we go along the pipes and investigate individual pipes to see whether we can locate the source,” said Lord Kamall..“In theory, it might be possible to find individual households and streets, but it is too early. This is really world-beating in what we are doing here. It is a first and it shows that we are ahead, but one of the issues with being ahead is that we detect things that would not have been detected earlier.”.UKHSA Epidemiologist Dr. Vanessa Saliba said the risk is very low for the public. .“Vaccine-derived poliovirus is rare and the risk to the public overall is extremely low. Vaccine-derived poliovirus has the potential to spread, particularly in communities where vaccine uptake is lower,” said Dr. Saliba..“On rare occasions, it can cause paralysis in people who are not fully vaccinated so if you or your child are not up to date with your polio vaccinations it’s important you contact your general practitioner to catch up or if unsure check your red book.”
