A national incident has been declared after the virus was found in a London sewer.

The past weeks have seen continued transmission of SARS-CoV-2, new cases of acute hepatitis in children, monkeypox and now poliovirus has been found in the UK. Several decades ago, poliovirus caused serious epidemics in many countries throughout the world.

These poliovirus infections would typically cause asymptomatic or very mild gastrointestinal infections, though one case in every 100-200 results in damage to motor neurons that can cause life-threatening paralysis (poliomyelitis).

Today, because of worldwide vaccination campaigns, there are less than 500 cases of poliomyelitis every year, and efforts are underway to eradicate and stop all remaining poliovirus infections. In the UK, poliovirus was declared eliminated in 2003 due to regular polio vaccination in childhood.