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An outbreak of polio has been detected in sewage samples from London.
The virus was officially declared eradicated in the UK in 2003. It can cause paralysis in rare cases and can be life-threatening, so the emergence of an outbreak in the capital has caused concern.
The UK Health Security Agency has declared a national incident and urged people to make sure their vaccines are up to date.
Doctors and healthcare workers have been told to be alert for any potential cases of the virus.
The sewage samples where polio was found were collected from the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works, which serves around four million people in north and east London
It is normal for the virus to be picked up as an isolated case and not detected again – but experts have now raised the alarm because several genetically-linked samples were found between February and May, indicating it is being passed on.
Previously, the virus has been picked up when a person vaccinated overseas with the live oral polio vaccine (OPV) returned or travelled to the UK and briefly shed traces of the vaccine-like polio virus in their faeces.
However, the virus in the recent samples has evolved in England and is now classified as a ‘vaccine-derived’ poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2).
VDPV is a strain of the weakened poliovirus, that was initially included in the oral polio vaccine, which has changed over time and now behaves more like the ‘wild’ or naturally-occurring virus.
This means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated and who come into contact with the faeces or coughs and sneezes of an infected person.
The UK stopped using live oral polio vaccine (OPV) in 2004 and switched to inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).
The UKHSA is working on the theory that a person vaccinated abroad with the polio vaccine – possibly in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Nigeria – entered the UK early in 2022 and was shedding the virus.
That person has has now passed it onto other, closely linked individuals in north-east London, who in turn are shedding the virus into their faeces.
Experts are looking at the possibility that just one family or extended family may be affected, though it is unclear how many people need to be infected for polio to be detected in sewage samples.
The UKHSA stressed that the virus has only been detected in sewage samples and no cases of paralysis have been reported.
It is now investigating the extent of community transmission and has established a ‘national incident’ to check for cases elsewhere as a precaution.
The polio vaccine is given on the NHS when a child is eight, 12 and 16 weeks old as part of the 6-in-1 vaccine. It is given again at three years and four months old as part of the 4-in-1 (DTaP/IPV) pre-school booster, and at 14 as part of the 3-in-1 (Td/IPV) teenage booster.
Most people who get polio do not have symptoms.
Some people get mild, flu-like symptoms, such as: High temperature, tiredness, headaches, nausea and muscle pain.
For more info on polio symptoms click here.
Most people are vaccinated against polio as children.
You'll usually only need an additional booster before travelling to some countries or if you have had a certain type of injury and 10 years have past since your last vaccine.
The booster will then offer protection for a further 10 years.
If you don't know when the your last polio vaccine was, you can check with your doctor or GP, ask your parents/caregivers if they have records of your childhood immunisations, or ask previous employers that required immunisation.
You can be vaccinated against polio at any age if you've not had one before and it should be free on the NHS.
The virus was officially declared eradicated in the UK in 2003. It can cause paralysis in rare cases and can be life-threatening, so the emergence of an outbreak in the capital has caused concern.
The UK Health Security Agency has declared a national incident and urged people to make sure their vaccines are up to date.
Doctors and healthcare workers have been told to be alert for any potential cases of the virus.
The sewage samples where polio was found were collected from the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works, which serves around four million people in north and east London
It is normal for the virus to be picked up as an isolated case and not detected again – but experts have now raised the alarm because several genetically-linked samples were found between February and May, indicating it is being passed on.
Previously, the virus has been picked up when a person vaccinated overseas with the live oral polio vaccine (OPV) returned or travelled to the UK and briefly shed traces of the vaccine-like polio virus in their faeces.
However, the virus in the recent samples has evolved in England and is now classified as a ‘vaccine-derived’ poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2).
VDPV is a strain of the weakened poliovirus, that was initially included in the oral polio vaccine, which has changed over time and now behaves more like the ‘wild’ or naturally-occurring virus.
This means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated and who come into contact with the faeces or coughs and sneezes of an infected person.
The UK stopped using live oral polio vaccine (OPV) in 2004 and switched to inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).
The UKHSA is working on the theory that a person vaccinated abroad with the polio vaccine – possibly in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Nigeria – entered the UK early in 2022 and was shedding the virus.
That person has has now passed it onto other, closely linked individuals in north-east London, who in turn are shedding the virus into their faeces.
Experts are looking at the possibility that just one family or extended family may be affected, though it is unclear how many people need to be infected for polio to be detected in sewage samples.
The UKHSA stressed that the virus has only been detected in sewage samples and no cases of paralysis have been reported.
It is now investigating the extent of community transmission and has established a ‘national incident’ to check for cases elsewhere as a precaution.
The polio vaccine is given on the NHS when a child is eight, 12 and 16 weeks old as part of the 6-in-1 vaccine. It is given again at three years and four months old as part of the 4-in-1 (DTaP/IPV) pre-school booster, and at 14 as part of the 3-in-1 (Td/IPV) teenage booster.
Symptoms
Most people who get polio do not have symptoms.
Some people get mild, flu-like symptoms, such as: High temperature, tiredness, headaches, nausea and muscle pain.
For more info on polio symptoms click here.
How to check your vaccine status
Most people are vaccinated against polio as children.
You'll usually only need an additional booster before travelling to some countries or if you have had a certain type of injury and 10 years have past since your last vaccine.
The booster will then offer protection for a further 10 years.
If you don't know when the your last polio vaccine was, you can check with your doctor or GP, ask your parents/caregivers if they have records of your childhood immunisations, or ask previous employers that required immunisation.
You can be vaccinated against polio at any age if you've not had one before and it should be free on the NHS.