© BELGIUM
London launches a campaign to vaccinate all children aged 1-9 against polio. The campaign was launched after the virus was found to be spreading in sewage water in the capital. It has been recovered 116 times in different parts of London since February.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suspects that the virus was probably brought along by someone who was vaccinated abroad with the live oral polio vaccine, which has not been used in the UK since 2004. In rare cases, that form of the virus are transmitted and mutate into what is known as ‘vaccine-derived’ polio. Although this virus is weaker than the native or ‘wild’ form, it can still cause serious illness, including paralysis, in unvaccinated people.
No cases of polio have been identified in the UK and authorities say the risk to the population is low. But to prevent a possible outbreak, some 900,000 children in London are now being invited for a polio vaccine. For some that will be a booster, for others a first polio vaccine.(agg)