The GGD has started to map the contacts of the infected employee. They are also being investigated as a precaution. However, the risk of further spread is considered very small, also in view of the good sewage system in the Netherlands. The virus mainly spreads through the faeces.
Bilthoven Biologicals staff were tested after the polio virus was already found last month in sewage research, which is standard practice around laboratories that work with the virus. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. Kuipers is therefore preparing stricter rules, including a permit requirement.
Children in the Netherlands are vaccinated against polio from the age of two months. As a result, the vast majority of the population is protected against the virus, which, in addition to flu-like symptoms, can in some cases cause severe paralysis. But because not everyone has been vaccinated, according to the RIVM, targeted measures are still necessary if someone becomes infected.
Bilthoven Biologicals has announced that it will conduct further investigation into the cause of the contamination. In a statement, the company calls its employees “responsible and driven experts” who work “day and night” to develop vaccines that contribute to the global eradication of polio.