Polio was officially eradicated in the UK in 2003
POLIO VACCINES: Children across London will soon be offered a polio vaccine
As a result officials are to launch a rapid vaccination programme among youngsters in London, where there are lower levels of uptake of the vaccine. Previously, the virus had been picked up when a person vaccinated overseas with the live oral polio vaccine returned or travelled to the UK and briefly shed traces of the vaccine-like poliovirus in their faeces. However, the virus in the recent samples had evolved in England and is now classified as a “vaccine-derived” poliovirus type 2 .
The NHS in London will contact parents when it their child’s turn to get the vaccine, with parents urged to take up the offer “as soon as possible”. The programme will start in the areas where the virus has been detected in sewage and then be extended across all London boroughs. “Polio is a serious infection that can cause paralysis but nationally the overall risk is considered low because most people are protected by vaccination. The last case of polio in the UK was in 1984, but decades ago before we introduced the polio vaccination programme around 8,000 people would develop paralysis every year.“It is vital parents ensure their children are fully vaccinated for their age.
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