Britain has launched a vaccination campaign with a booster dose of the polio vaccine for those under the age of ten, after confirming the virus had spread in the British capital for the first time since the eighties.
The UK’s Health Security Agency detected 116 polioviruses from 19 wastewater samples this year in London, after first sending an alert about the discovery of the virus in June.
The agency said on Wednesday that the levels of the polio virus that had been detected and the genetic diversity indicated that transmission was occurring in a number of London boroughs.
No cases have been detected so far, but in an effort to combat a potential outbreak, doctors will now invite children aged one to nine years to get a booster dose of the vaccine, as well as a campaign that has already been announced.
Immunization rates vary across London, but on average are lower than the 95 percent coverage rate the World Health Organization suggests is necessary to control polio, according to Archyde.com.
Polio is a viral disease that can cause paralysis and mainly affects children under the age of five.
The virus is transmitted from person to person, mostly, through contact with infected stool, or, to a lesser extent, through contaminated water or food. It enters the body through the mouth and multiplies inside the intestine.
While there is no cure for polio, the disease can be prevented with a simple and effective oral vaccine, thus protecting the child for life, according to the World Health Organization.