Polio found in UK for first time since 1984 as Government declares national incident
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The UK Health Security Agency has declared a national incident after discovering the virus that causes polio in the UK for the first time in nearly 40 years.
There are not yet any confirmed cases but the samples found appear to confirm the first “transmission event” in the UK since 1984, when the last case of polio was detected.
Parents of children who are not up to date with their polio vaccine course are urged to make an appointment with their GP as soon as possible, but the UKHSA says the risk to the wider population is low.
