London, UK, Finds Traces Of Polio Virus In Wastewater

Demonstrating the importance and potential of diligent wastewater analysis, a strain of poliovirus has been detected in buried infrastructure below London, England.

“In London, health officials detected several closely-related polioviruses in sewage samples collected between February and May,” Scientific American reported. “The presence … hints that the poliovirus may be spreading among ‘closely-linked individuals in North and East London,’ who are now shedding virus in their stool… So far, the virus has only been detected in sewage and no cases of paralysis have been reported.”