The spread of polio in London launched an awareness campaign for children under 10 years old – Health Agency

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London, August 10, 2010: Britain has launched a polio vaccination campaign for children under 10 years of age in London after confirming the first outbreak of the virus in the capital since the 1980s.

The United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency identified 116 polioviruses from 19 sewage samples in London this year. He first raised the alarm about finding the virus in sewage samples in June. Read more

The levels and genetic diversity of the polio virus that have since been detected are spreading across several London boroughs, the agency said on Wednesday.

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No cases have been identified so far, but GPs are now inviting children aged 1-9 years for extra vaccinations to prevent a possible outbreak, alongside a wider follow-up campaign already announced. Vaccination rates in London vary, but average below the 95% the World Health Organization suggests is needed to control polio.

Polio, which is spread primarily through faecal contamination, kills and paralyzes thousands of children worldwide. There is no cure, but the vaccine has brought the world closer to the end of the wild or naturally occurring form of the disease. Less than 1% of infected children become paralyzed.

The virus found in London sewage is mainly a vaccine-like virus, which is found when children are vaccinated with a specific live vaccine – now only used overseas – shedding the virus in their faeces. This harmless virus can be passed between unvaccinated children, and in doing so, it can mutate into a dangerous version of the virus and cause illness.

Last month, the United States reported a case of paralytic polio outside of New York, the first case in a decade. The UKHSA said the case was genetically linked to the virus seen in London. Read more

Britain is expanding polio surveillance to sites outside London to see if the virus has spread further. The risk to the general population is estimated to be low because most people are vaccinated, even if the level is below the level needed to prevent transmission.

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Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Alex Richardson, Kirsten Donovan

Our standards are: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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