UK rushes to contain spread of polio 'outbreak' as virus found in London sewage sample

London: Britain's health minister said that the source of the polio virus found in sewage samples in the capital London could be traced back to a single house or street, The Daily Mail reported.

Lord Kamall claimed that 'world-beating' tactics learned during the Covid pandemic were being deployed to track down patient zero in this, adding that the investigation will see officials 'go along the pipes' to locate where the virus came from.

Polio samples were first detected at a sewage plant in Beckton which covers a population of 4 million people in North and East London.

The UKHSA is working on the theory that a person vaccinated abroad with the polio vaccine — possibly in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Nigeria — entered the UK early in 2022 and was responsible for the spread of the virus. (UNI)