New York City officials call for polio vaccination
UK health officials offer polio booster vaccine to children aged 1-9 in London after finding evidence of virus spreading in multiple parts of London, but the paralytic disease in humans
In a statement Wednesday, the UK Health Security Agency detected poliovirus from the oral polio vaccine in sewage in eight boroughs of London. but said no cases were confirmed.
As part of the ongoing response to the #poliovirus detected in London sewage, the JCVI has #London To all children in } Children ages 1 to 9 should be vaccinated against polio now.
The NHS will contact parents when it is time for their child's polio booster or catch-up vaccination pic.twitter.com/cpYTCP517D
— Health Security UK (@UKHSA) { . virus. According to the World Health Organization, he has only 1 in 200 polio infections that lead to paralysis. Most people do not show any symptoms."This will ensure a high level of protection against paralysis and limit further spread of the disease," the agency said. Most people in the UK are vaccinated against polio in childhood. He said the risk to the wider population was low.
The agency said it was working closely with US and Israeli health authorities and WHO to investigate possible links between polioviruses detected in the two countries.
"Poliovirus-affected areas of London have been found to have the lowest vaccination coverage," said Dr Vanessa Saliba, a consultant epidemiologist at the UK's Health Security Agency. . "This is why the virus spreads to these communities and puts the fully unimmunized population at greater risk."
Polio is a disease that is often spread in water, and it is mainly her affects children under the age of 5. Although it has been largely eradicated in developed countries, it is still endemic in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and parts of Africa. Early symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, and muscle stiffness. Among people paralyzed by this disease, paralysis of the respiratory muscles can lead to death in up to 10% of cases.
In rare cases, the live virus contained in the oral polio vaccine used in the global effort to eradicate the disease can mutate into a new form strong enough to cause a new outbreak. There is a nature. The Immunization Booster initiative in London will use an injectable polio vaccine without that risk.
Polio is also causing concern in the United States. Last week, New York state health officials said they found signs of additional cases of the virus in wastewater samples from two different counties, warning:Hundreds of people may be infected with a potentially serious virus.
Last month, the New York Department of Health reported the first case of polio in nearly a decade in the United States in northern Rockland County. did. New York City. Authorities say the case occurred in a previously healthy young adult who had not been vaccinated and who developed paralysis in his legs. Three positive wastewater samples were found from the county and four from adjacent Orange County, genetically linked to the original case, the Department of Health said in a press release. , the polio virus is spreading in the community. The most recent samples were taken in June and He from two locations in Orange County in July and one in Rockland County in July.
Thank you for reading CBS NEWS.
Create a free account or log in to
for more features.
