L0ondon, 11 August : UK health officials are preparing to provide an inactivated vaccination against polio (IPV) booster dose to children aged between years of one and nine years old to stop the spread of the outbreak of the virus in London. This was in the wake of the detection of Type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus in the sewage in the north and east of London.
According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) the agency has uncovered 116 samples of vaccine-like poliovirus were discovered in the wastewater in London from February to July 2022.
Although the majority of them are vaccine-like viruses However, only a few of them possess enough mutations to qualify as vaccine derived Poliovirus (VDPV2).
But the VDPV2, as “wild” polio is capable of producing paralysis in non-vaccinated people the UKHSA stated.
The National Health Service aims to complete the distribution of the booster dose in the next 4 to 6 weeks in Barnet, Brent, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Waltham Forest – the areas in London where poliovirus is transmitted.
“These are one or two of the lowest rates of vaccination which is the reason the virus is increasing in these communities and places those who aren’t fully vaccinated at a higher chance of contracting the virus,” said Dr Vanessa Saliba Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, in a statement.
However, to date, “no cases of polio have been reported, and for the vast majority of the population who are fully vaccine-free the risk is very low,” Saliba said.
Polio shots are offered in regular National Health Service (NHS) vaccines for children at eight 12, 16 and 12 weeks.This is part of the 6-in-1 vaccination.
Boosters are available between the ages of three and fourteen.
“While most of Londoners are safe from polio but the NHS will shortly be in touch with parents of eligible children aged between one up to nine to give them a supplementary dose to ensure that they have the greatest protection against the virus” stated Jane Clegg the chief nurse of the NHS in London.
A virus that can be detrimental to the nervous system as well as lead to muscle weakness The polio virus usually is transmitted through the mouth, most often by way of hands that are that are contaminated with the faecal matter of an affected person.The transmission of the virus through oral and saliva can also occur.
Polio is extremely contagious and people can be infected with the virus even when they aren’t sick.The symptoms, which are moderate and flu-like (fatigue and headache, fever muscle pain, stiffness and vomiting) can take up to 30 days to manifest and, in the meantime, an affected person could be passing on the virus to other people.
Although rare, a few cases of polio can cause in paralysis or even death.
The last instance of wild polio in the UK was confirmed in 1984.
The UK was declared clean of the disease in 2003.Afghanistan as well as Pakistan are the only two nations in the world that the disease is still considered to be endemic.
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