You may have heard in the news that the Polio virus has been detected in London. It appears that the type of polio found is a derivative of the oral polio vaccine that was phased out in the UK in 2004. Whilst there is evidence of some spread between closely-linked individuals in North and East London, the virus has only been detected in sewage samples and no cases of community transmission have been reported. What is polio and how is it transmitted? Polio (poliomyelitis) is a