health
Polio virus detected in London days before ministers cut global eradication funding
Campaigner criticises ‘shortsighted and self-defeating’ decision and says it increases risk to the UK public
TL;DR
- Polio virus detected in London sewage for the second time this year.
- Campaigners criticize UK government's decision to cut funding for global polio eradication as 'shortsighted and self-defeating'.
- Polio is an infectious viral disease that can cause paralysis and be life-threatening.
- The detected virus is a vaccine-derived form, which can mutate and cause paralysis in communities with low vaccination rates.
- UK health officials conduct weekly wastewater sampling for polio.
- Mass vaccination programs have eliminated polio from most parts of the world, but it persists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- UK's decision to cut funding to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is part of broader aid cuts.
- Immunisation coverage for polio in the UK has slightly decreased in recent years.
- Experts emphasize the importance of checking children's vaccination status and contacting GPs for missing jabs.