Poliovirus detected in Europe: Cause of concern?

Vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was detected between September and December 2024 in five European countries: Spain, Poland, Germany, the UK and Finland, and potentially bactin. It could put uninoculated people at risk. EuroSurveIllance Report.

The analysis revealed a wide range of genetic variation between samples, both domestically and within the same sampling site. The findings suggest that multiple independent imports occurred almost simultaneously from outside the European poliovirus surveillance network.

Five countries reporting the virus maintain high immunization coverage with three inactive poliovirus vaccines (IPVs), but subnational coverage of the third dose of polio vaccines in 2023 ranged from 43% to 99% or more. EuroSurveIllance. This finding means that some populations are not chronically deadly and are vulnerable to poliovirus infection.

Increased vigilance has been encouraged

“There have been no reported cases of polio to date and the EU/EEA remains polio-free, but such findings call for increased vigilance,” said the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC). The spokesman said Medscape Medical News.

“The overall risk of the vaccinated population is rated as very low regardless of the scope of vaccination. The overall risk of the spokesperson is low in areas where vaccinations are high, and vaccination is not the case. “It is rated as moderate in areas with low levels,” the spokesman said.

Non-vaccinated or low-vaccinated people develop polio upon infection with pathogenic polio virus, head of the Netherlands National Institute of Polio, Dr. Erwin Deuzer, who told The Netherlands. It may be. Medscape Medical News.

Poliovirus detection in environmental surveillance shows it is present in populations that discharge sewage treatment plants, indicating that labs are doing a major job detecting these viruses.

However, environmental surveillance cannot distinguish between viruses excreted by vaccinated and those who have not been vaccinated.

Nevertheless, like an ECDC spokesman, he said, “The risk of polio is not necessarily significant or high. Most people are vaccinated, and those who have been vaccinated develop polio upon infection. I won't,” he said.

However, Soile Blomqvist, PhD, Senior Researcher at the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare in Helsinki, Finland. Medscape Medical News Wastewater findings were “concern.”

“The presence of polioviruses in wastewaters indicates a potential risk of transmission,” she said. “This is particularly concerning because the virus can spread quietly through asymptomatic individuals.” Approximately 70% of people infected with the poliovirus. It's asymptomatic25% experience mild symptoms, she noted.

Shea Kolsen Fisher, Maryland, clinical professor of public health at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. “Transmission of silent polioviruses can last for months or years when new cases of paralytic polio appear,” she said. Medscape Medical News. “This depends on vaccination rates and the behavior of asymptomatic carriers.”

Additional risks may include frequent contact with people from countries where polio is occurring, or with travelers, Duizer added.

Children at the greatest risk

I have a child under 5 years old The best risk In the case of infection, less than 1% of poliovirus infections lead to paralysis. The latest paralytic cases of polio in the European region occurred in two children in Israel in March 2023 and February 2022 and two children in Ukraine in October-December 2021. , the technical lead of polio at the European World Health Organization Regional Office, spoke Medscape Medical News.

Estimates of ECDC Between 2012 and 2021, approximately 2.4 million children ages between 12 and 23 months may not have received the required three IPVs. Another 600,000 children may have missed the vaccine in 2022 and 2023. But anyone who is not fully vaccinated is at risk for the disease, Husseinoff said.

An ECDC spokesperson added: The EU, and potential barriers to vaccine access. ”

Lower polio risk

“The most important polio control scale is to strengthen vaccination programs by ensuring high coverage of daily vaccinations with IPV,” Blomqvist said. “All children must receive a complete set of polio vaccinations. Travel vaccination requirements for visitors from the polio-enhance region must match international health regulations recommendations. there is.”

“In addition, intensive monitoring is essential, including wastewater monitoring to detect quiet transmission and rapid detection and investigation of suspected acute relaxation paralysis,” she said.

Duizer noted that IPV used in Europe significantly reduces oral transmission of the virus, but does not affect fecal transmission routes. Therefore, he recommended hand washing with soap and water (not ethanol products, not ethanol products, not ethanol products) after contact with the stool and before preparing the food. Other pointers include flushing the toilet with the lid closed after defecation to prevent contamination from aerosol clouds, and frequent cleaning of the toilet area.

Fisher and Deuser reported no related financial ties.

Annie Lennon is a medical journalist. Her writing has been featured in other outlets, including Medscape, Medical News Today, and Psych Central.