Poland’s chief medical officer has confirmed the discovery of a mutated polio virus in Warsaw wastewater. Pawel Grzesiewski has already addressed his fellow citizens with an important warning, as reported by Gazeta.
For 22 years, Europe has been free of infections caused by wild poliovirus, which causes the infectious poliovirus disease. The last case of the disease in Poland was recorded in 1984. However, new cases continue to appear in Asia and Africa, so polio has not been forgotten. Municipal wastewater is periodically tested for the presence of polio viruses. The latter gave a very alarming result.
“In November 2024, the presence of polio virus type 2 was detected in a sample of urban wastewater collected in Warsaw, which does not indicate human disease, but in accordance with WHO recommendations indicates the need for preventive measures. . Similar events have occurred recently. in Spain and Great Britain”, – reported Glavsanepidnadzor.
Grzesiewski acknowledged that the situation is alarming, but stressed that not a single case has been confirmed.
“The most important message is that if you are not vaccinated, although there have been no cases of wild polio in Poland for 40 years, the situation is changing.” – he said at a press conference.
Mutated forms of the virus do not pose a threat to vaccinated people, but can be dangerous to people who do not have post-vaccination immunity.
