National Incident Declared After Detection of Poliovirus in London Sewage Samples

Poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples collected in London between February and May, the U.K. Health Security Agency said today.

While there have been no cases of paralysis, investigations are underway to determine if there is any community transmission, the agency said.

BREAKING: Britain is reporting that they have found traces of polio in the sewage system.

Ok, what's going on here???

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BREAKING – A national incident has been declared after poliovirus was detected in wastewater in London: UK Health Security Agency

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“Importantly, the poliovirus detected in the sewage — called vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) — is not the same as wild polio. Vaccine-derived polio occurs if the weakened live virus in oral polio vaccines — which does not cause polio in the recipient, and is shed by vaccinated kids through their digestive system — circulates in under-vaccinated communities long enough for it to mutate into a version that is like wild polio, regaining the ability to paralyze,” according to Politico.

“Vaccine-derived poliovirus is rare and the risk to the public overall is extremely low,” said Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA.

“We are urgently investigating to better understand the extent of this transmission and the NHS has been asked to swiftly report any suspected cases to the UKHSA, though no cases have been reported or confirmed so far,” she said.

The agency is asking the public to check they are up to date on their polio vaccines, particularly caregivers of children who may have missed a vaccination.

Polio is a virus that mostly affects children, causing permanent paralysis in about 1 in 200 people after infection, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Immunization coverage against polio in London is at 86.6 percent, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said in a statement.

So, let’s see if I understand the public health bureaucrats correctly.

The poliovirus vaccine is responsible for the sewage samples, but getting more people vaccinated against poliovirus is the answer.

Makes perfect sense, right?

Breitbart reported:

The news comes just two weeks after the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) observed coronavirus vaccination infrastructure should stay in place to ensure other diseases such as polio can be countered in the future.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says it was probably imported to London by someone who was recently vaccinated overseas with a live form of the virus, the BBC reports.

It says the risk is low, but parents should still check the immunisation status of children to ensure they are fully up-to-date.

“Most of the UK population will be protected from vaccination in childhood, but in some communities with low vaccine coverage, individuals may remain at risk,” said Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA.

Over the past four months, the UKHSA has found the polio virus in samples collected from the Beckton sewage works, which serves a population of four million in north and east London.