GORONTALOPOST.ID–For the first time in nearly 40 years, the polio virus has returned to haunt us. The virus that triggers this paralysis has been detected in the UK. The discovery of the polio virus found in wastewater.
So far, no cases of polio have been detected directly in the UK. However, scientists actually found the outbreak through an indirect route.
They have found several versions of the virus in wastewater as per the UK Health Safety Agency report.
“The risk to the general public is very low, as most people in the UK are vaccinated against polio during childhood and are therefore protected against infection,” the UK’s Health Service said in a statement.
However, the agency encourages anyone who has not been fully immunized to schedule an appointment right away. Because immunization is claimed to prevent transmission.
Virus Discovery Chronology
Between February and May, British scientists found several samples containing a closely related version of the virus in wastewater at London’s Beckton Sewage Treatment Works, Britain’s largest water treatment plant.
The genetic sequence of the virus suggests there has been some spread between closely related individuals in north and east London.
People infected with polio, or who have been vaccinated with a live version of the virus, leave traces of the virus in their stools that eventually end up in wastewater.
So the current hypothesis is that infected people carry the virus to London and then pass it on to other people who aren’t immunized.
Scientists in the UK are rapidly expanding surveillance of waste samples “We are investigating immediately to better understand the extent of this transmission,” epidemiologist Vanessa Saliba for the UK Health Agency UKHSA, said in a statement.
What is Polio?
Polio causes permanent paralysis in people who are not fully vaccinated in about 5 out of every 1,000 cases. Polio is spread by the faecal-oral route. That is, when a person accidentally inhales infected feces.
The last case of polio in the UK occurred in 1984. The UK was declared polio-free in 2003. The pandemic has given the opportunity for polio to re-emerge in many countries.
From 2019 to 2020, the number of polio cases worldwide nearly tripled, NPR reported in April, resulting in more than a thousand known cases spread across nearly 30 countries. Last year, the world recorded more than 600 polio cases.(Jawapos)
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