Water Sector News
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Polio's Arrival in the London Sewer System Is Worrying Experts
Jun 24, 2022
https://time.com/6190607/polio-in-london/
The U.K.’s most recent case of polio occurred in 1984, and the disease was declared formally eradicated there in 2004. But the country is on edge this week after the poliovirus was discovered in several sewage samples in London, giving rise to what government health officials call a “national incident.” No new cases of polio have been confirmed in the U.K. But according to an alert by the U.K. Health Security Agency, “it is likely there has been some spread between closely linked individuals in north and east London and they are shedding the type 2 poliovirus strain in their feces.” (There were originally three strains of poliovirus, but types 1 and 3 have been vaccinated out of existence.)
The U.K.’s most recent case of polio occurred in 1984, and the disease was declared formally eradicated there in 2004. But the country is on edge this week after the poliovirus was discovered in several sewage samples in London, giving rise to what government health officials call a “national incident.” No new cases of polio have been confirmed in the U.K. But according to an alert by the U.K. Health Security Agency, “it is likely there has been some spread between closely linked individuals in north and east London and they are shedding the type 2 poliovirus strain in their feces.” (There were originally three strains of poliovirus, but types 1 and 3 have been vaccinated out of existence.)