Edinburgh University's Devi Sridhar rules out Covid-style lockdowns to tackle polio in UK
| Author | Jacob Farr |
| Published date | 28 June 2022 |
| Publication title | EdinburghLive (Scotland) |
She adds that the priority for those living in the UK is to continue to ensure that their children are given their polio vaccinations and for the relevant authorities to track down the cases to lessen the impact of transmission.
Sridhar goes on to explain that healthcare professionals have found that the latest polio strain had come from an oral polio vaccine which uses "live, non-infective, non-virulent polio virus for their inoculations."
On this, she wrote in the Guardian : "The latest screening and analysis with metagenomics indicates that this polio strain is derived from the oral polio vaccine (OPV) still used in some parts of the world.
"Some countries use live, non-infective, non-virulent polio virus for their inoculations, which can evolve to become infectious in some cases.
"So we now know there has been introduction and then transmission of one of these strains within London – though the exact cases have yet to be identified."
She continued: "In the UK we have a safe and incredibly effective vaccine for polio, commonly referred to as IPV.
"This is administered as a jab by a trained medical professional. IPV is part of the standard childhood immunisation programme and, with all four doses, is 99-100% effective.
"There is no live virus in this vaccine."
On how best to get a hold on the situation, Sridhar recommended that vaccinations continue to be administered and for the population to increase care in their personal hygiene.
She said: "For this outbreak, the key steps are for public health teams to track down these cases in London to limit spread and stop further transmission, and for parents to be encouraged to check their children are vaccinated against polio.
"Vaccination is the best protection, but good hygiene measures are important too: polio is introduced into the body through the mouth and often from faeces (poo).
"Recent outbreaks of measles and mumps in Britain reveal how many children have not had their routine childhood jabs, and how complacency over vaccination has taken hold as memory of diseases such as whooping cough and tetanus fades."
The professor adds that it is only natural for people to worry about the spread of polio in the UK as the majority of the population has been introduced...
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