The source of the polio virus discovered in a London sewage works could be narrowed down to a house or street, a health minister has said.
Lord Kamall said relevant agencies were now using “world-beating” tools to work out how to “go along the pipe” to locate where the virus came from.
“In theory, it might be possible to find individual households or streets,” he added.
The UK Health Security Agency declared a national incident on Wednesday after traces of the virus were found during routine surveillance at the Beckton Sewage Treatment Works.
Health officials said the risk to the public was extremely low, but they remained concerned about the virus – eradicated in the UK in 2003 – being spread in the community.
Peers questioned the government in the House of Lords on Wednesday about what action they were taking after the samples were discovered.
Lord Kamall said the NHS would be “reaching out” to parents in London whose children were not vaccinated, but urged…
