Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Polio virus: Expert Sir Hugh Pennington says ‘almost zero’ risk to public… unless you’re drinking sewage

Post Thumbnail

Public health officials have declared a national incident after sewage samples in London tested positive for polio. But a leading north-east expert says there’s “certainly” nothing to fear locally.

During the 1950s, polio was rife across the UK but it was wiped out by 2003 due to the vaccine.

Now, decades later, the virus has been found in sewage in London, sparking fears it will spread across the country.

However, Sir Hugh Pennington wants to reassure everyone that the chances of catching it are almost none.

Sir Hugh Pennington has spoken to us about the likelihood of polio spreading
Sir Hugh Pennington

The emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University says: “Unless you drink the sewage, there’s no risk.

“I would be very surprised if there would be any risk to people in the north-east.

“The polio vaccination is still going on, it will be from a person who’s come to the country from the one or two countries where polio hasn’t been eradicated yet.

Vaccination

“In Nigeria and Afghanistan for example, there’s been a little bit of hesitation from some about getting the vaccination.”

He adds: “Finding any virus is a case for concern, but I don’t think there’s any risk to people living in London and certainly not anybody in the north-east.”

What is polio and how do we spot it?

Polio is a serious viral infection which can cause nerve injury – and potentially escalate into partial or full paralysis.

Most people with polio don’t display any symptoms but some which may occur include a high temperature, extreme tiredness, headaches, vomiting, stiff neck and muscle pain.

Nauseous man with headache crouching next to toilet getting ready to vomit

It’s usually tackled early on, with vaccines in the UK occurring when a baby is eight, 12 and 16 weeks old as part of the 6-in-1 vaccine.

Boosters are given to three- and 14-year-olds.

Where did polio in London come from?

It’s thought it may have come from someone who was immunised using a live polio vaccine. That hasn’t been used in the UK since 2004.

Here, an inactivated – non-infectious – version is used as part of a child’s jabs.

But some other countries use a live oral version, with a weakened form of polio.

In rare cases, this can mutate and spread to others.

Woman struggling to swallow glass of water, holding onto her throat in pain

Sir Hugh explains: “There are two kinds of polio viruses. The vaccinated-related one doesn’t cause disease, but you can find it if you look in the sewage.

“It may well have been from someone vaccinated from polio.

“The likelihood there will be any cases is almost zero.”

Treatment: What if I get polio?

In the unlikely event someone does contract polio, it can be treated through bed rest in hospital, painkillers, help with breathing and regular stretching or exercise.

In some circumstances, a patient may require specialist help such as physiotherapy or surgery if they suffer any long-term problems.

These complications include muscle weakness, joint problems and swallowing difficulties.

The NHS says some people who’ve had polio can also develop post-polio syndrome which means symptoms of the virus may reoccur even decades later.

Conversation