Polio is considered to be eliminated in most first world countries, including the UK, thanks to vaccines. However, the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works (LBSTW) recently detected poliovirus in a number of wastewater samples, which is raising concerns about the possibility of viral spread.
Health officials currently believe that the poliovirus they found in the sewage samples may have been brought into the country by someone who was vaccinated with a live form of the virus via oral polio vaccines (OPV). The UK stopped using OPV in 2004 and has since used the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which contains a dead form of the virus.
Officials have not yet identified any cases, but intend to monitor the situation and see if any transmission is occurring in the community.
Poliovirus is highly transmissible and spreads through person-to-person contact.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), polio has historically affected mainly children under the age of 5. They typically developed more severe symptoms than adults.
Most people who have a poliovirus infection will not have any symptoms, but 25% will develop symptoms. Some notable symptoms of poliovirus include:
In severe cases, people with polio can develop paralysis. According to the WHO, 1 in 200 infections leads to paralysis. Furthermore, of paralyzed people, “5% to 10% die when the respiratory muscles are immobilized”.
The UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) claims to detect “vaccine-like polioviruses” in wastewater 1 to 3 times per year. However, recent samples exceeded that amount for only four months of the year.
“These previous detections occurred when an individual vaccinated overseas with the live oral polio vaccine returned or traveled to the UK and briefly ‘lost’ traces of the vaccine-like poliovirus in their stool,” it reads. in a statement from UKHSA.
At this point, tests show that recent samples show that the virus has evolved and “is now classified as a type 2 poliovirus (VDPV 2)” derived from a vaccine.
The vaccine-derived type can, on rare occasions, cause serious illness, such as paralysis, in people who have not been fully vaccinated.
As the poliovirus found in the wastewater samples has evolved, this makes officials wonder if people are actually transmitting the virus. There are no reported cases yet, but officials encourage people to check their vaccination status.
“… if you or your child are not up to date with polio vaccinations, it is important to contact your GP to update you or, if unsure, check the Red Book,” says Dr Vanessa Saliba. , consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA.
“Most of the UK population will be protected from vaccination in childhood, but in some communities with low vaccination coverage, individuals may remain at risk.” – Dr. Vanessa Saliba
According to recent data compiled by the House of Commons Library, the UK vaccination rate for polio is less than the WHO recommended 95%, with some areas of the country having vaccination rates as low as 80%.
Many countries use wastewater monitoring for various diseases as a form of early warning system for potential outbreaks.
For example, the United States uses the National Wastewater Surveillance System to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. By testing the samples, officials are able to pinpoint specific regions that are experiencing an increase in a particular disease or bacteria.
The UK’s LBSTW uses such a system, and that’s how it took advantage of the possibility of the poliovirus spreading.
To continue tracking the virus, UKHSA asked medical professionals to report poliovirus cases to their agency.
Although their system has detected the poliovirus in north and east London, they reportedly have no plans to ramp up testing elsewhere in the UK at this time. Considering that testing played such a pivotal role in the COVID-19 pandemic, many medical professionals expected to see more monitoring, especially in areas with lower vaccination rates.
“Without extensive national environmental surveillance of poliovirus, it is not possible to know whether this problem is more prevalent,” says Professor David Salisbury, a member of the WHO Global Commission for Polio Eradication Certification.
Dr. Armand Balboni, who previously served as a staff officer at the U.S. Army’s Infectious Disease Research Institute and is currently CEO of Appili Therapeutics, spoke to Medical News Today about the detection of the poliovirus.
Dr Balboni said the news “really underscores the importance of an early warning system and how the potential for further exposure and disease can be exposed through wastewater surveillance.”
“It is concerning that this virus is found in the environment because it means that a viral spread is taking place and for those who may have weakened the immune system or have not yet received or completed the vaccine series, it can pose a risk to the development of the virus. poliomyelitis, ”Dr. Balboni told MNT.
Dr. Kenneth Campbell, assistant clinical professor at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, also spoke with MNT about the latest developments.
‘I think these findings in the UK are important because they continue to indicate the importance of vaccinating at the individual, community and social level,’ said Dr Campbell.
“The risk to the general public of polio in the UK is considered low and I commend public health officials for communicating to the public to make sure families are up to date with their polio vaccinations,” he added.
Dr. Campbell also noted the importance of wastewater surveillance from a public health perspective.
“[Wastewater surveillance] is extremely helpful for public health officials as they attempt to track infections at the community level and then identify those communities to devise public health strategies around mitigation measures.” – Dr. Kenneth Campbell
How long did the polio vaccine take to make?
Salk vaccine development. Researchers began work on a polio vaccine in the 1930s, but the first attempts were unsuccessful. An effective vaccine didn’t come until 1953, when Jonas Salk introduced his inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).
How long did it take for salt to develop the polio vaccine? The foundation let itself go into debt to finance the final research needed to develop the Salk vaccine. Salk worked tirelessly for two and a half years. Salk’s inactivated polio vaccine came into use in 1955.
How long has the polio vaccine been studied?
The first national polio vaccination campaign was in Cuba, in 1962 [22]. During a meeting in 1956 between Sabin and Chumakov, Sabin provided his experimental results and his polio vaccine strains to Chumakov, who began producing it for use in his country.
When did polio vaccine studies start?
On April 26, 1954, field trials of the Salk polio vaccine, involving 1.8 million children, began at Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia.
How long did they study the polio vaccine?
Dr. Francis made the announcement to a crowd of scientists and reporters at the University of Michigan’s Rackham Auditorium, concluding his two years of national field trials of the polio vaccine developed by his former student, Jonas Salk.
Is polio a virus or disease?
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus spreads from person to person and can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis (it cannot move parts of the body).
What kind of diseases is polio? Polio is a contagious viral disease that in its most severe form causes nerve damage leading to paralysis, difficulty breathing, and sometimes death. In the United States, the last case of natural polio dates back to 1979.
Is polio still a disease?
is it treatable? Polio still exists, although polio cases have declined by more than 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 cases to 22 cases reported in 2017. This reduction is the result of the global effort to eradicate the disease.
Does polio still exist 2022?
| Village | Population 2022 |
|---|---|
| Eritrea | 3,662,244 |
How many cases of polio are there in 2020?
Polio, a highly infectious and sometimes deadly disease that has plagued the world since ancient times, is now at very low levels, with 140 reported cases of wild poliovirus (WPV) in 2020.
Is polio a human virus?
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus spreads from person to person and can invade the spinal cord of an infected person, causing paralysis (it cannot move parts of the body). There is no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines to prevent polio.
Is polio an animal virus?
The poliovirus, however, is strictly a human pathogen and does not naturally infect any other species (although chimpanzees and Old World monkeys can be experimentally infected).
What animal does polio come from?
Hundreds of diseases can be transmitted between insects, animals and humans. One of the things that makes polio eradicable is the fact that humans are the only reservoir. Poliovirus has not been found to exist and spread among animals despite repeated attempts to document it.
What originally caused polio?
Polio is caused by 1 of 3 types of poliovirus. It often spreads due to contact with infected feces. This often happens due to poor hand washing. It can also happen from eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
What are the 3 types of polio?
There are three wild types of poliovirus (WPV): type 1, type 2 and type 3. People must be protected against all three types of viruses to prevent polio, and polio vaccination is the best protection.
What is the difference between type 1 type 2 and type 3 polio? Type 1 causes paralysis in about 1 in 200 infections; Type 2 was last registered in 1999; Type 3 is less virulent than type 1, causing paralysis in about 1 in 1000 cases.
Which type of polio is most common?
What are the symptoms of polio? It is estimated that 95 to 99% of people who contract the poliovirus are asymptomatic. This is known as subclinical poliomyelitis. Even without symptoms, people infected with the poliovirus can still spread the virus and cause infections in others.
What are the three forms of symptomatic polio?
Paralytic poliomyelitis is classified into three types: spinal, bulbar and bulbospinal poliomyelitis. Spinal poliomyelitis refers to the condition affecting the motor neurons of the body (Fig. 14.9A), most commonly the legs but also including the back and neck.
What are the three symptoms of polio?
Signs and symptoms, which can last up to 10 days, include:
- Fever.
- Sore throat.
- Headache.
- He retched.
- Fatigue.
- Back pain or stiffness.
- Neck pain or stiffness.
- Pain or stiffness in the arms or legs.
What is asymptomatic polio?
It is estimated that 95 to 99% of people who contract the poliovirus are asymptomatic. This is known as subclinical poliomyelitis. Even without symptoms, people infected with the poliovirus can still spread the virus and cause infections in others.
What is Type 2 polio?
Type 2 cVDPVs (cVDPV2) are the most prevalent, with 959 cases occurring globally in 2020. Specifically, since the African region said it stopped transmitting wild poliovirus in August 2020, cVDPVs are now the only form of the poliovirus affecting the African region.
Is type 2 polio eradicated?
Wild type 2 poliovirus was declared eradicated in September 2015, with the last virus detected in India in 1999. Wild type 3 poliovirus was declared eradicated in October 2019. It was last detected in November 2012 .
What are the 3 types of polio?
There are three individual and immunologically distinct wild poliovirus strains: wild type 1 poliovirus (WPV1), wild type 2 poliovirus (WPV2), and wild type 3 poliovirus (WPV3). Symptomatically, all three strains are identical, causing irreversible paralysis or even death.
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