Polio vaccination rates in England are currently below the World Health Organisation's target, with 90.5% of children vaccinated by 12 months. The WHO target for childhood vaccination is 95%.
Dr Patrick Murphy, a consultant respiratory physician, has expressed concern about the risk of polio returning due to a dip in vaccination levels. He highlighted the potential for outbreaks if vaccine levels fall and there is migration from areas with higher polio rates.
Polio was once widespread, killing or paralysing over half a million people worldwide annually at its peak in the 1940s and 50s. The last recorded case in the UK was in 1984, and the disease has now been eradicated in all but Afghanistan and Pakistan.