Polio boosters to be offered to under-10s after virus is picked up in eight London boroughs – including Hackney

The samples containing poliovirus came from Beckton sewage works, which serves four million people. Photograph: diamond geezer / Flickr

Nearly one million children in London are to receive polio vaccines after samples of the disease were discovered in the sewage of eight north-east London boroughs.

Heath experts initially discovered samples in sewage from the Beckton treatment network this spring.

Since then testing has been expanded across London, with polio found in 116 isolates from 19 sewage samples in Barnet, Brent, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, and Waltham Forest.

The last case of polio in the UK was discovered in 1984 and Europe was declared polio-free in 2003.

Polio is caused by a virus that spreads easily from person to person, mainly from faeces, and can be spread by poor hand hygiene – for example, if someone infected with the virus does not wash their hands after using the toilet and touches food or water used by others.

It can also be spread less commonly through coughing and sneezing.

In rare cases, it can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis.

Most people with polio will fight off the infection without even realising they had it, and a small number will have a flu-like illness between three and 21 days after being infected.

The virus is likely to have been shed in the faeces of people who have recently been vaccinated in a country that uses the oral polio vaccine no longer used in the UK, and passed on to “a small number of people”.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is “urgently offering” polio booster doses to 900,000 children under the age of 10 across London to boost protection.

Health bosses stressed there have not been any confirmed cases of polio and the risk to the wider population is low.

However, they said that it is clear the virus has spread within the community and urged families to make sure their polio vaccines are up to date.

Families should wait for an invite from their GP to get their children boosted, and the vaccination rollout will start in the eight boroughs where samples have been found.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, a consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “No cases of polio have been reported and for the majority of the population, who are fully vaccinated, the risk is low.

“But we know the areas in London where the poliovirus is being transmitted have some of the lowest vaccination rates. This is why the virus is spreading in these communities and puts those residents not fully vaccinated at greater risk.”

She said in rare cases the illness can cause paralysis but the risk is low because nationally most people have been vaccinated.

Dr Saliba added: “It is vital parents ensure their children are fully vaccinated for their age. Following Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advice, all children aged one to nine years in London need to have a dose of polio vaccine now – whether it’s an extra booster dose or just to catch up with their routine vaccinations. It will ensure a high level of protection from paralysis. This may also help stop the virus spreading further.”

Vaccination rates in London vary from 93 per cent to 61 per cent, and Hackney has the lowest number of five-year-old children who have had polio vaccines.

There will also be a childhood vaccination catch-up campaign across London.

Testing is being extended to a further 15 sites across London and there are plans to take samples from 10-15 other places in the UK.

As well as making sure their children have been vaccinated, people are urged to practice good hand hygiene.

London’s chief nurse Jane Clegg said:  “While the majority of Londoners are protected from polio, the NHS will shortly be contacting parents of eligible children aged one to nine years old to offer them a top-up dose to ensure they have maximum protection from the virus.

“We are already reaching out to parents and carers of children who aren’t up to date with their routine vaccinations, who can book a catch-up appointment with their GP surgery now and for anyone not sure of their child’s vaccination status, they can check their Red Book.”