POLIO IS BACK IN UK AFTER 40 YEARS
Health chiefs in major vaccine drive amid fears that virus which can cause paralysis and death is spreading
HEALTH chiefs declared a national incident last night after polio returned to the UK for the first time in 40 years.
Experts have repeatedly found samples of the deadly virus at a waste water site.
Britain had been pronounced clear of polio in 2003 with the last case coming in 1984. A major drive is now being launched by the NHS to ensure routine vaccinations are taken up.
And doctors, most of whom will have no direct experience of the disease, were yesterday given reminders of the symptoms and ordered to remain alert. In the worst cases polio can paralyse or even kill.
Unvaccinated adults and parents of children who are behind with their polio jabs are urged to contact a GP. Youngsters should have five doses between the ages of eight weeks and 14 years.
The UK Health Security Agency believes a traveller, possibly from Pakistan, Afghanistan or Nigeria, shed the virus in their faeces after being given a live oral polio vaccine during an outbreak.
It is likely they then infected relatives by failing to wash their hands properly and contaminating food and drink. Officials are
looking at the possibility that just one family – or an extended family – may be affected.
The virus was detected at the Beckton sewage treatment works, which covers a population of four million in north and east London.
An investigation is searching for the source of the outbreak, so the area can be targeted with a vaccination drive. Anyone found to be infected might be asked to isolate.
Despite clear signs of transmission, no human cases have yet been identified and officials say the risk to the public remains ‘ extremely low’ because of high vaccination rates.
By the age of two, almost 95 per cent of UK children have had the correct number of doses. However, this drops to just under 90 per cent in London. When it comes to the pre-school booster, just 71 per cent of children in London have had it by the age of five.
It is normal for sampling to detect a few traces of poliovirus in sewage each year but these have previously
‘Might be asked to isolate’
been one-offs. However, officials say a sample identified in April was genetically linked to one first seen in February and this has persisted and mutated into a ‘vaccine- derived’ poliovirus, which is more like the ‘wild’ type and can cause the same symptoms.
Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA, said: ‘Vaccine- derived poliovirus is rare and the risk to the public overall is extremely low. Vaccine- derived poliovirus has the potential to spread, particularly in communities where vaccine uptake is lower.
‘On rare occasions it can cause paralysis in people who are not fully vaccinated so if you or your child are not up to date with your polio vaccinations it’s important you contact your GP to catch up or, if unsure, check your red book. 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.
‘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.’
A small number of victims will experience a flu-like illness three to 21 days after infection. The virus attacks the nerves in the spine and base of the brain in up to one in 100 cases, causing paralysis, usually in the legs, that develops over hours or
days. If the breathing muscles are affected, it can be life threatening.
During the early 1950s the UK was rocked by a series of polio epidemics, with thousands suffering paralysis each year. Mary Berry, the former Great British Bake Off judge, was hospitalised after contracting polio aged 13, leaving her with a twisted spine and damaged left hand.
Live oral polio vaccine has not been used in the UK since 2004 but it is still deployed in some countries, particularly to respond to polio outbreaks. This vaccine generates gut immunity and for several weeks after vaccination people can shed the vaccine virus in their faeces.
These viruses can spread in under-protected communities and mutate into a ‘vacdren
cine- derived poliovirus’ during this process. This behaves more like naturally occurring ‘wild’ polio and may lead to paralysis in unvaccinated individuals, as has happened abroad. The UK uses an inactivated polio vaccine, which is given as part of a combined jab to babies, toddlers and teenagers as part of the NHS routine childhood vaccination schedule.
Jane Clegg, chief nurse for the NHS in London, said: ‘The majority of Londoners are fully protected against polio and won’t need to take any further action, but the NHS will begin reaching out to parents of chil
aged under five in London who are not up to date with their polio vaccinations to invite them to get protected.’
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said he was ‘not particularly worried’ about polio because of excellent vaccination rates.
But he told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: ‘As a precaution, sensibly what the NHS will be doing in London is contacting those families that have children age five or below and just making sure they’re up to date with their polio vaccination status.’
Symptoms of polio can include a high temperature, a sore throat, a headache, stomach pain, aching muscles, feeling and being sick. Doctors can test patients’ stool samples to aid diagnosis.
Nicholas Grassly, professor of vaccine epidemiology at Imperial College London, said: ‘Until polio is eradicated globally we will continue to face this infectious disease threat.’
It is estimated there are 120,000 polio survivors in the UK. The last time someone contracted the disease here was in 1984.
‘Majority are protected’