Polio was recently detected in sewage in the UK – here's what else scientists look for in our wastewater

By Leon Danon, Associate Professor in Infectious Disease Modelling and Data Analytics, University of Bristol
Kathleen M O'Reilly, Associate Professor, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

We recently learned that poliovirus had been detected in sewage in north and east London between February and May 2022. Poliomyelitis (polio) is an infectious disease that can cause paralysis and death, mainly in children.

But polio is also a triumph of vaccination. The last known case of polio in the UK was in 1984, and the country was declared…

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