A type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV2) has been detected in sewage samples from the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works in the eastern part of the British capital, the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said June 22, 2022.
- The UK offers an injected, inactivated poliovirus vaccine, which is not shed in faeces. However, several countries continue to offer the oral vaccine, which has a mild form of the virus that can be found in faeces and can thus be detected in the sewage system.
What is vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) ?
- A vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus.
- This means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an infected person.
- These viruses may cause illness, including paralysis.
- For this reason, the global eradication of polio requires stopping all OPV in routine immunization, as soon as possible after the eradication of wild poliovirus (WPV) transmission.
GS TIMES UPSC PRELIMS & MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS BASED BASICS DAILY ONLINE TEST CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ FOR STATE CIVIL SERVICES
MORE THAN 30 QUESTIONS FORM GS TIMES UPSC 2022 PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS DAILY TEST
