News
Polio virus in sewage sample again: This time in UK
Vaccine-derived poliovirus 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, while declaring it as a ‘national incident’.Investigations were underway, the UKHSA said, after several closely related viruses were found in sewage samples taken between February and May.
“The virus has continued to evolve and is now classified as a ‘vaccine-derived’ poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2), which on rare occasions can cause serious illness, such as paralysis, in people who are not fully vaccinated,” the agency added. No case of paralysis has been reported as of now.
The virus may have spread between closely linked individuals, who were administered an oral polio vaccine overseas.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.The detection of a mutated version of the same strain in April and May indicates community transmission for several months, The Telegraph reported. Moreover, several samples were reported, as opposed to the occasional three per year.Expanded wastewater surveillance is underway in the city to identify local areas for targeted action.
“The importance of this finding is that it is important to ensure that all children have access to vaccines, even in developed countries, where usual vaccination coverage is quite high,” Shahin Huseynov, technical officer for the World Health Organization (WHO)’s vaccine-preventable diseases and immunisation programme in Europe, was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
The UK last reported a case of wild poliovirus in 1984 and the country was declared polio-free by 2003.
“The majority of Londoners are fully protected against polio and won’t need to take any further action. But the National Health Service (NHS) will begin reaching out to parents of children aged under five in London, who are not up to date with their polio vaccinations, to invite them to get protected,” Jane Clegg, chief nurse for the NHS in London, was quoted as saying by the UKHSA press office.
Childhood vaccination coverage, which includes polio vaccination, has been on the decline for the past few years in the UK.A third of children in the borough of Hackney and the City of London did not receive the first dose at the 12 month-mark, while nearly one quarter missed their second shot due to be taken at 24 months, according to The Telegraph.In the 2020/2021 academic year, less than 85 per cent had received all three doses of the vaccine in London, while 33 per cent missed their pre-school or teen booster.
The detection of vaccine-derived poliovirus is not rare. A case was reported from Israel March 2, 2022, in a three-year-old unvaccinated child. The figure had shot up to seven cases by April 15.Wild poliovirus is endemic only in Pakistan and Afghanistan, with just two new cases reported in 2021, according to the WHO. However, Malawi recorded Africa’s first wild poliovirus case in five years this February.
“One case of VDPV-type 1 was detected from an environmental sewage sample collected from the Shyamlal Lane ES site in Kolkata April 25, 2022,” according to a WHO statement released June 17.The global health body had added that the virus was “likely to have been excreted by an immune-deficient individual.” – DTE
The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday demanded an immediate termination of what it called a “secretive and dangerous” defence agreement signed between Sri Lanka and India, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 05 April visit.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Nugegoda, FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jagoda described the agreement as a “betrayal of the nation” and a “crime against the people,” urging the government to invoke Article 12 of the deal and exit it with the required three months’ notice.
Jagoda said the document, which surfaced on social media after being published by a news portal, appears to be the actual agreement signed between the two countries. “The government has not denied its authenticity. That silence is telling,” he said.
Jagoda added that the agreement bears the signatures of Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry Secretary Sampath Thuiyakontha and Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha.
“What’s most troubling,” Jagoda warned, “is that both governments attempted to keep the agreement under wraps. Unlike the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, which was made public with all annexures, this agreement was hidden from the people, and even now, we don’t know how many other agreements exist between India and Sri Lanka.”
Jagoda said that a Right to Information request made on 04 April was met with a reply from the President’s Office stating that it had no copies of the agreement—raising serious concerns about transparency, even at the highest level. “One could question whether the President has seen it because his office does not have it,” Jagoda said.
The 12-clause of agreement reportedly covers areas such as exchange and training of military personnel, defence industry collaboration, classified information protection, and military medical services, including battlefield healthcare and telemedicine.
Jagoda said the definition of “classified information” in Clause 7 was alarmingly broad. “It allows India to label virtually anything as secret. Even weapons or military assets transferred under this agreement cannot be revealed—not even after the agreement ends,” he said, citing Clause 7.3.
Clause 10 prohibits either country from taking disputes to international courts or involving third-party mediators. “It’s like asking a rabbit to negotiate with a tiger,” Jagoda quipped, drawing parallels to the complications of the 1987 accord, which eventually saw Indian peacekeeping troops refusing to leave until a change in the Indian government.
Jagoda accused the NPP-led government of hypocrisy, pointing out that the JVP, the main component of the current regime, had vehemently opposed Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987. “Now they’ve gone and signed an even more dangerous deal,” he said.
Citing Clause 12, which allows either party to withdraw with three months’ notice, the FSP called on the government to act immediately to exit the pact. “We urge the people to unite and defeat these underhanded, sovereignty-eroding deals. The FSP stands ready to lead that fight,” Jagoda said.
The police yesterday arrested a group of students, including the Convener of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF), Madushan Chandradith, during a protest held by the Allied Health Science Graduates’ Union in front of the Health Ministry yesterday.
The police obtained an order from Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, earlier in the day, to prevent protesters from invading the Colombo Hospital Square and the Health Ministry.
Inspector General of Police T.M.W. Deshabandu Tennakoon is set to face formal questioning on Monday (19 May) over serious allegations of misconduct and abuse of power, parliamentary sources said yesterday.
A special Committee appointed to investigate the claims will commence formal proceedings next week, following several rounds of preliminary discussions held within the parliamentary complex in recent weeks.
The IGP has been officially notified to appear before the Committee and is expected to face the inquiry for the first time at 2:00 PM in Committee Room No. 8.
The Committee, which met again on Thursday (15) to finalise arrangements, is investigating allegations that Tennakoon misused his official powers in a manner deemed severe and improper.
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