Parents of young children are being urged to check that their polio vaccines are up to date, as some may have missed out due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Polio was eradicated in Britain in 2003, but the UK Health Security Agency have found the virus in sewage samples in London, collected from the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works, which serves around four million people in north and east London. Although it is normal for the virus to be picked up as isolated cases and not detected again, experts have raised the alarm after several genetically-linked viruses were found in samples between February and May.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is now investigating to establish if the virus is spreading to others in the community. The virus can cause paralysis in rare cases and can be deadly.
