To be worried about polio?

[maisieandvicks]

I understand that it is out of our control, but the news about polio returning since 2003, I’m worried for my children.

They’ve had all of their shots bar my pre-schooler who is getting hers next month.

I’m still concerned for my children and furthermore, I’m equally as concerned for children nationwide.

AIBU to be concerned about the arrival of polio?

In your view. I happen to agree with you that there is no evidence of strong efficacy, but people are entitled to their own opinions about their health care, and I was referring to a spectrum of alternative practices - moany of which do have proven efficacy. But I think you are missing the point of my post and would find it easier to understand if you read /quoted all of it and not just part of one sentence.

Why are you so anxious. A small amount was found in the sewers. No cases. They just want people to be vaccinated. Yours are. The risk analysis is minimal. This hysteria isn't helping.

There is absolutely no evidence for efficacy of homeopathy.
for what it’s worth the level of poliovirus in drinking water is at a homoeopathic level ie practically non-existent. You can’t have it both ways!

Polio is more or less eradicated in most of the world but it remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Nigeria has struggled with polio longer than other countries too. Areas in the ME and N/E Africa are polio free but are not yet certified as such.

The worry is that vaccination rates for polio among teenagers have plummeted in some communities of the uk, and particularly in London. Finding polio in sewerage in London is a concern - but they haven’t found any cases. That’s why the focus is on increasing vaccination as a preventative measure.

There’s no need to panic.

Hmm no, it actually tends to be the supposedly 'educated' lot that think they know better than science and decide not to get vaccines for their kids. That includes people within our own country. They are the ones who natural selection would have killed off very quickly years ago. Science is what keeps them alive now, funnily enough.

It’s not a bigoted opinion. It’s the same with many outbreaks, especially in London. There is a reason that different boroughs of London have different vaccine schedules. In Lambeth the BCG is given as standard to babies. Across the river in Westminster it is not. This is solely down to the higher incidence of TB in the immigrant populations in Lambeth.

It’s not racist. It’s not misinformed. It’s scientific fact. Unvaccinated populations (i.e. in countries where vaccines are unavailable) will have higher incidence of disease.

It's being reported that the polio detected in sewage was most likely from someone who was vaccinated with a live vaccine who came from a country where there are many cases of polio, eg Afghanistan, Pakistan but let that get in the way of your ridiculous assumptions.

@BloodyHellKen but read it properly. It's spreading. It's not just vaccine detritus, it's developing BECAUSE it is spreading. Between people. You know, like a virus does.

There has always been live vaccine shedding in the sewage, that wouldn't be newsworthy. This is different.

This!

They arent happy unless we are in a constant state of fear!!

There is not an outbreak. There is evidence of the live virus in sewage. It is likely that it has appeared via a national from a country that still inoculates using the live virus. So, no outbreak and not from an unvaccinated immigrant. Don't spread disinformation, it's infectious.

I’m not saying those people don’t exist but their numbers are much, much lower than those immigrant populations that come from countries where they don’t have access to vaccines.

The vaccine refusing British nationals are very much in a minority still. Polio vaccine coverage for children is around 94% in the UK. This rate has improved since 2006 when the combined 5 in 1 vaccine was introduced. As a nation we are still very much pro vaccine. Of course there will be some dippy anti vaxxers who make the news for not vaccinating their kids but they are in the minority.

There is no “outbreak” detected currently.
they have found virus in sewage. The most likely source is form the many many people around the world that are still vaccinated with older types of vaccine, vs newer types used in uk form 1980 onwards.
these older types of vaccine, whilst deactivated, can result in Vaccine-Associated Paralytic Poliomyelitis cases (VAPP) and the emergence of Vaccine Derived Polioviruses strains. this is what they are finding in sewage. The reason they are finding it is because sewage has been tested for presence of polio virus since 1950s routinely as an excellant early indicator of risk (along with a few other pathogens including, no, covid),
The risk is that once VAPP or other strains are detected it indicates sources are upstream in sewage network and are therefore present in sewage from peoples homes. So someone is shedding VAPP virus in their excrement as a result of a recent vaccine. If hygiene is lax that can transfer onto hands etc and infect unvaccinated children. Unlicensed healthcare worried becuase of the dramatic rise in unvaccinated children due to stupid parents.

when I was at school in 1960s and early 70’s it was not uncommon to see children with callipers on their legs. A friend of mine in infant school did. I didn’t realise till years later that this not unusual sight was a consequence of polio. And they were the children that “got off lightly”.

But @Oblomov22 , the original source was from a live vaccine, but the now evolved forms can only be occurring from community spread. That's the worry.

There is no risk from the virus in the sewage. The risk is the people who excreted the virus, who are walking around with polio. Fine if you are vaccinated, not great in communities where uptake has not been high. And those communities exist, or this could not be happening!

Sorry not unlicensed healthcare…public health ffs

An immediate pay rise for the poor sods who are charged with going down the tunnels taking samples trying to trace who the poo has come from…

it’s not bigoted to try to pinpoint where an outbreak has originated. It’s an absolute necessity. Should the sewage authorities have turned a blind eye? And the problem with anti-vaxxers, as opposed to people who have come from abroad, is that if polio takes hold their children will be unprotected.

People have forgotten - or never known - the fear of polio because of its very real and devastating effects. My mum in 50s London was banned from Woolworths (!), the cinema and swimming pools. Ian Dury who was a polio victim reputedly caught it at a lido.

Oh of course it must definitely be immigrants. They are to blame of course. Could not possibly be from British people. could it? I do not know why I am surprised by the crass sentiments from some posters. And yes OP Yabu.

100% agree.

@picklemewalnuts POLIO IS NOT SPREADING IN THE UK

It has been detected in sewage at Becton sewage works since February this year. No one actually has polio in the UK, no one is in hospital.

There has not always been live polio vaccine detected at sewage works as the polio vaccine hasn't been given as a live vaccine for many, many years. Hence my previous comment that the polio detected in sewage was most likely from someone who was vaccinated with a live vaccine who came from a country where there are many cases of polio, eg Afghanistan, Pakistan (where live vaccines are still used).

@OperaStation your figures for polio vaccinations are out of date, 1 in 4 children in London are unvaccinated which means that only 75% of children in London are vaccinated vs 1 in 6 in the rest of England which is about a 82% vaccinated.
Both of these figures are well below that needed for hurd immunity and is a disgrace in a 1st world country with free vaccinations.
I'm old enough to have had family members who had measles and were left deaf (those who survived) and crippled by polio, my best friend at school her eldest sister was mentally disabled by rubella which her mum caught when she was pregnant. The problem is that vaccinations worked too well in that we have now got entire generations who have never seen the carnage left by these viruses so truly have no idea of the risks that they are putting their kids through and forget thar we can only be safe from them when 95%+ people are vaccinated

Seems a lot of people on this thread have misread the story and have decided to share their misunderstandings as fact.

To be clear, this issue has originated from a person who WAS vaccinated and there IS evidence of some community spread.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61896411.amp

@picklemewalnuts
"Fine if you are vaccinated,"

Exactly! UK citizens normally are. Unless they choose not to. Anyone who chooses not to, then has to take this risk. The rest of us don't.

No different to other infections. If someone chooses not to have MMR, and then gets measles which can be very nasty indeed, then that's their choice.

Exactly! Bit stupid to blame unvaccinated immigrants when the source is a vaccine!

Isn't anyone going to say how bloody brilliant it is that we test sewage though as an early warning system for potential public health crises? Go scientists!

1in 4 in London unvaccinated Hoard? I wonder What part of played by difffent nationalities making up that figure? Because a London GP last year stated that a lot of London covid refusers were of nationalities that were more anti vaxxing.

It does look like the wastewater findings show that a person vaccinated with live virus HAS managed to pass that virus on to one or more people (presumably unvaccinated people) and this is a major worry for public health officials. (Also a huge embarrassment for the UK) For the general public who are mostly vaccinated, this is not a big deal.

If you are fully vaccinated there is no need to worry. Everyone who is old enough should get vaccinated if they aren't already.

Children under 3 won't have received all their polio vaccination course so need more vigilance. If you're in the habit of letting your under 3 play or swim in the river, I'd reconsider that for the time being. There is no reason a wealthy country like ours should be discharging sewage into rivers. But our greedy, lightly regulated water industry does, so don't swim in the Thames, for this and other reasons.

You’ve no cause for concern if your children are all protected by vaccine.