Public urged to ensure vaccines are up to date as Poliovirus detected in local sewage
The UK Heath Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced poliovirus (polio) has been found in sewage samples collected from the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. The monitoring of sewage is a routine way of detecting the virus in the community and current levels suggest there has been some spread between closely-linked people in north and north east London.
A UKHSA investigation is underway to protect the public, who are urged to ensure polio vaccines are up to date, especially parents of young children who may have missed an immunisation opportunity. The best way to prevent polio is to make sure you are up to date with your vaccinations. The polio vaccine is part of the NHS routine childhood vaccination schedule.
It’s given when a child is:
- 8, 12 and 16 weeks old as part of the 6-in-1 vaccine
- 3 years and 4 months old as part of the 4-in-1 (DTaP/IPV) pre-school booster
- 14 years old as part of the 3-in-1 (Td/IPV) teenage booster
You need to have all of these vaccinations to be fully vaccinated against polio. You can have a polio vaccination at any point if you’ve never had one before.
You should also get vaccinated even if you’ve had polio before as it protects against different types of polio. Our immunisation and primary care leads are working closely with NHSE London on ensuring as many people in north east London as possible are vaccinated against Polio. We’ll share more information about this when we can.