Voice of America
23 Jun 2022, 00:06 GMT+10
LONDON - Polio has been detected in sewage samples in the British capital, the first sign since the 1980s that the virus could be spreading in the country, but no cases have been found, authorities said.
The risk of infection from the disease, which causes paralysis in children in under 1% of cases, was also low because of high vaccination rates, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
The agency nevertheless encouraged parents to make sure their children were vaccinated after the discovery of the virus during routine wastewater surveillance - particularly those who may have missed shots during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nationwide vaccination levels are above the 90% needed to prevent outbreaks, but London's coverage rates among the under-twos has dipped below that in recent years.
The National Health Service in the city will begin contacting parents of children under five who are not immunized.
Polio, spread mainly through contamination by fecal matter, used to kill and paralyze thousands of children annually worldwide. There is no cure, but vaccination brought the world close to ending the wild, or naturally occurring, form of the disease.
UKHSA said it usually finds between one and three samples of poliovirus in sewage annually, but they have previously been one-offs. This year, one sample was found in February at the Beckton Treatment Works in east London, and there has also been ongoing detection at the same plant, which serves around 4 million people, since April.
In the past, UKHSA said the detections occurred when an individual vaccinated overseas with the live oral polio vaccine returned or traveled to the country, and briefly shed the virus in their feces.
They believe this is also what happened this time, with the key difference being that the virus has also probably spread between closely linked people and evolved into what is known as 'vaccine-derived poliovirus,' which can cause disease.
Investigations into community transmission were ongoing, the agency said.
While this kind of event is effectively unheard of in Britain, vaccine-derived poliovirus is a known, albeit rare, threat globally in countries with low immunization coverage. It can cause outbreaks, and Ukraine and Israel recently reported cases.
Outbreaks are more common in countries including Nigeria and Yemen.
The last polio case in the UK was in 1984, and 'wild' polio is now only found in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with imported outbreaks reported in Malawi and Mozambique in 2022.
The World Health Organization's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the agency was working with the UK on the response.
'Surveillance, vaccination and investment to end polio is critical,' he tweeted.
Get a daily dose of Madagascar Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Madagascar Sun.
More InformationNew Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): Afghanistan's steady rise in international cricket has caught the attention of cricketing greats,...
New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday highlighted India's capability to efficiently organize large-scale...
BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A selection of the best press photos from Xinhua. A drone photo taken on Feb. 27, 2025 shows the construction...
(250301) -- JUBA, March 1, 2025 (Xinhua) -- A nurse from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) South Sudan delegation...
New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): The Indian Coast Guard Ship Sachet departed for Sudan on Friday, carrying over two tons of life-saving...
ABUJA, NIGERIA — For longtime automotive importer David Tope, Nigeria's auto market has become increasingly difficult. He used to...
MEXICO CITY, Mexico: Three American women were found dead over the weekend at a beach resort in Belize, police said. Officials are...
BANGKOK, Thailand: Chinese authorities said they started live-fire military exercises in the Gulf of Tonkin this week, just days after...
ABOARD THE CHARLES DE GAULLE, Philippines: France's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its warships arrived in the Philippines over...
FRESNO, California: Fresno State suspended two of its top men's basketball players last weekend and removed a third player from the...
WARSAW, Poland: Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski confirmed over the weekend that Poland has been covering the cost of Ukraine's...
Israel sustained the West's support for its slaughter in Gaza for 15 months only through an intensive campaign of lies. It invented...