A National incident has been declared over fears Polio is spreading through Britain for the first time since the 1970s. It has been detected in sewage works in London, with the UK Health and Security Agency calling on parents to check their children are vaccinated.
There hasn't been a widespread community outbreak in decades and officials have said the current risk remains low, The Mirror reports. It is possible that the traces detected in sewage could be from oral vaccines that are often offered abroad.
They contain weakened forms of the virus that don't cause disease, but can be picked up in sewage samples. Vaccines offered in the UK are via an injection which contains an inactivated form of the virus.
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For the first time Britain has repeatedly detected genetically-linked samples. This suggests that the virus has been spreading since February and has continued to mutate from this symptomless vaccine-derived form.
Fortnightly sewage samples have recently heightened that it may have mutated from the harmless virus to the wild type form that was endemic in Europe from Victorian times. The UKHSA has since declared a national incident and alerted the World Health Organisation, which could see Britain stripped of its polio-free status.
Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “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.
“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 GP to catch up or if unsure check your red book. Most of the UK population will be protected from vaccination in childhood but in some communities with low vaccine coverage, individuals may remain at risk.
“We are urgently investigating to better understand the extent of this transmission and the NHS has been asked to swiftly report any suspected cases to the UKHSA though no cases have been reported or confirmed so far.”
The NHS offers three doses of its polio injection to infants with top up jabs at age three and 14. Uptake has dropped in recent years and is lower in London.
Jane Clegg, chief nurse for the NHS in London said: “The majority of Londoners are fully protected against polio and won’t need to take any further action, but the NHS will begin reaching out to parents of children aged under five in London who are not up-to-date with their vaccinations to invite them to get protected.
“Meanwhile parents can also check their child’s vaccination status in their Red Book and people should contact their GP Practice to book a vaccination should they or their child not be fully up-to-date.”
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