After new reports of polio cases abroad and samples of the virus in sewage from several other developed countries, Canada intends to begin testing sewage from several cities “as soon as possible”, it has learned CBC News.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is already working to monitor polio activity around the world, a spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions from CBC News.
Currently, PHAC’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg has the diagnostic tools available to test poliovirus samples. Any Canadian samples suspected of poliovirus will be sent to this laboratory for further analysis and laboratory confirmation, and the results will be shared with the respective local health authorities “so that appropriate public health measures can be taken if necessary.”
According to the release, PHAC has been communicating with national and international partners who are experts in this field to finalize a wastewater testing strategy. It will be testing sewage samples that were collected earlier this year from “key high-risk municipalities” to determine whether polio was present before the reported international cases.
PHAC will also send samples to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further confirmation.
“However, it is important to recognize that accurately testing wastewater for poliovirus is a developing science,” the statement continued. “For example, wastewater detections can be affected by extreme precipitation events, such as flooding in a community.”
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Reports of poliomyelitis in the USA, UK and Israel
On Wednesday, British health authorities announced they would offer a booster dose of polio to children aged one to nine in London, after finding evidence that the virus has spread to several regions of the capital.
The agency said it was working closely with health authorities in the United States and Israel, as well as the World Health Organization, to investigate links between the polio viruses detected in those two countries.
In July, Israel announced a recent outbreak of polio infections appeared to be under control, after several people became infected, including a girl in Jerusalem who was paralyzed and now needs rehabilitation. according to the Jerusalem Post.
Most recently, in New York State, an unvaccinated young adult suffered paralysis after a polio infection in Rockland County, an area known for low vaccination rates, which marked the first reported case in the US in nearly a decade.
Outbreaks also remain common in Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Africa, areas of the world where vaccination efforts have not yet eradicated the virus.
Polio can often be asymptomatic, but in some cases, the viral infection can lead to paralysis or death.