Gb, polio alarm goes off in London

Polio alarm goes off in London, after traces of the virus increase in sewage. Health authorities have decided to offer the vaccine to all children between the ages of 1 and 9. The vaccine-derived poliovirus has been detected in the wastewater of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest. At the moment, no cases of polio have been confirmed and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (Jcvi) has specified that “the risk for the population is low”. The UK health system will contact parents and start in areas where the virus has been detected and where vaccination rates are low. Worried about the return of polio is not just shaking London: the resurgence of polio has also alarmed the state of New York. According to local health authorities, “there may be hundreds or even thousands of undiagnosed cases” of ‘submerged’ infections.