Contents
Traces of live vaccine polio virus have been found in sewage samples in North and East London. The British health service says the incident is local and that traces of viruses are occurring in sewage studies. Usually, however, they are one-off discoveries, this time it is another case.
- Heine-Medin disease caused by virus polio was a source of suffering for many people, especially children in the first half of the 50th century, until the vaccine was invented in the XNUMXs.
- In many countries, including Poland, the disease has been completely eradicated
- However, the World Health Organization (WHO) urges parents to systematically vaccinate and control the vaccination schedule of children after the COVID-19 pandemic
- As there are two types of vaccine (live and inactivated), there is a risk that traces of virus from live vaccines will end up in e.g. sewers.
- Scientists are already working on vaccines against virus strains derived from these vaccines
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
According to the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA), the virus was detected several times between February and May and continues to mutate. Officials believe that a person vaccinated with a live polio vaccine, which uses a weakened version of the virus, came to Britain and, along with feces, released the pathogen into London’s sewage. Live vaccines are not used in the UK, hence the theory of vaccination outside the British Isles.
Officials reassure the public that the risk to society is “very low”, but there is an intense search for anyone who might be infected. The UK was declared polio free in 2003, the first time that the virus was discovered in the UK.
The rest of the text is below the video.
How is polio spread?
The polio virus causes infectious Heine-Medin disease. It is spread by coughing, sneezing, or contact with objects contaminated with stools. The virus lives in the throat and gut for up to six weeks, and those who become most infectious are seven to 10 days before and after the onset of symptoms.
The pathogen can spread throughout the body by attacking the spinal cord and causing muscle weakness and paralysis. It is especially dangerous for infants and young children, and its development is favored by poor hygienic conditions.
Polio symptoms
Most people who are infected with polio do not show any signs of infection, but about one in 20 people do. If symptoms do occur, they usually appear three to 21 days after infection and include:
fever
sore throat
headache
abdominal pain
muscle pain
nausea and vomiting
About one in 50 patients develop neck and back stiffness. Less than one percent of polio cases are paralyzed, and one in 10 of them is fatal.
Vaccination against polio in Poland
Poland has special merits in the fight against polio, because the first vaccine against the virus was invented by a scientist of Polish origin, Hilary Koprowski. In 1959, vaccinations began in Poland, and four years later, Heine-Medin’s disease was almost completely eliminated in the country.
Vaccinations are still mandatory in Poland today. Four doses of the vaccine are required for full protection of your baby. According to the preventive vaccination schedule, three doses of primary vaccination are administered at 3-4, 5-6 and 16-18 months of age. A booster dose is given at the age of six. The poliomyelitis vaccine is safe.
You can buy Imovax Polio inactivated polio vaccine from Medonet Market. It is suitable for both children and adults.
Since 1988, a worldwide Program of Eradication (total eradication of infectious disease in the world) of Poliomyelitis has been carried out. In Poland, there have been no cases of poliomyelitis for over 40 years.
Vaccinations against polio around the world
Most countries (including Poland) have switched to polio vaccination, which uses inactivated (killed) fragments of the virus, but some developing countries still rely on live vaccines. People who are vaccinated by mouth may excrete the weakened live virus in their faeces for several weeks. Therefore, it is normal for traces of a virus to be detected at times as part of routine wastewater testing, but these results are usually one-off.
The London samples caused concern because they came from different people and contained two mutations that suggest that the virus continues to evolve as it spreads between people.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of cases has dropped from 350. in 1988 to just 33 reported cases in 2018. However, sporadic cases of vaccine-derived polio virus still occur.
The UK drug regulator and the World Health Organization are working on a vaccine that targets polio strains derived from live vaccines.
We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time, we asked Orina Krajewska what, according to her, a holistic approach to health is. How to combine the three aspects – body, spirit and mind to enjoy balance and good health? You will hear about this and many other aspects of the topic in the latest episode of our podcast.