UK: After emergence of samples, children in London to be offered polio booster

Health officials in the United Kingdom said on Wednesday (August 10) that around one million kids in London will be offered a polio booster vaccine. This comes after the virus was detected in sewage samples across the capital. Authorities are alarmed as the virus can cause paralysis.

A health ministry statement said the move came "following the discovery of type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus in sewage in north and east London." The state mentioned that a targeted booster would be offered to children between one and nine.

"Following the discovery of type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus in sewage in north and east London, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that a targeted inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) booster dose should be offered to all children between the ages of 1 and 9 in all London boroughs,"UK Health Security Agency's statement on August 10 read.

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The last case of polio in the UK was in 1984. But concerns have been raised as since February this year, the polio virus has been found 116 times in London's waste water. It was first detected at an east London treatment work earlier this year.

To tackle the situation, the country is banking on an urgent immunisation campaign, which is expected to see nearly a million children offered the vaccine. Notably, there have been no confirmed cases of the disease so far.

The statement said, "The detected levels suggest "that there is some level of virus transmission in these boroughs which may extend to the adjacent areas."

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Kathlene O'Reilly, who is a polio eradication expert, said, "The discovery in the London sewage samples suggests "there may be localised spread of poliovirus."

Vanessa Saliba, the consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, said, "For the majority of the population, who are fully vaccinated, the risk is low."

She added, "But we know the areas in London where the poliovirus is being transmitted have some of the lowest vaccination rates. This is why the virus is spreading in these communities and puts those residents not fully vaccinated at greater risk."

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