Guidance

UK National Authority for Containment (UK NAC)

Published 8 April 2025

Overview

As part of the UK government’s commitment to Global Polio Eradication, a National Authority for Containment (NAC) was formally appointed by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) in July 2022.

The polio Post-Certification Strategy is a comprehensive strategy that was developed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to define the global technical standards or core set of activities that will be needed in order to sustain a polio-free world after global certification of wild poliovirus eradication.

The World Health Organization (WHO) requires Member States to establish an NAC in order to support the implementation of this strategy and the WHO Global Action Plan for Poliovirus Containment (GAPIV).

Background and history

In 2000, a Working Group for the Containment of Poliovirus was established in the UK. Overseen by the then National Polio Containment Coordinator (NPCC), a survey of laboratories that may knowingly hold poliovirus-containing material was conducted from 2001 to 2005, and a follow-up survey was carried out in 2012.

In 2017, some of the members of the Working Group formed a ‘shadow NAC’ who worked on developing a Containment Certification Scheme (CCS) specific to the UK context. In 2018 the UK government was signatory to the World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution WHA 71.16, in which Member States were urged to appoint an NAC to work to reduce to a minimum the number of facilities in their country designated for the retention of polioviruses post-eradication, and to prioritise facilities performing critical national or international functions. The UK NAC was formally appointed by the DHSC in July 2022, with the first full meeting held in August 2022.

The NAC’s overall role is to:

• reduce to a minimum the number of facilities designated for the retention of polioviruses, prioritising facilities performing critical national or international functions
• ensure the requirements established in the WHO GAPIV guidance are effectively implemented and maintained in poliovirus-essential facilities (PEFs), for countries like the UK who host at least one PEF

In the UK, the NAC also plays a supportive role in delivering the following requirements which are led and coordinated by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) with input from relevant partner organisations:

• establish a national emergency response plan(s) for responding to a potential poliovirus exposure, release, theft, loss or outbreak in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the PEFs, to be approved by the National Certification Committee (NCC) for polio eradication
• oversee the investigation of root causes leading to a breach of containment

The audit teams who inspect laboratories holding polioviruses who wish to be certified as PEFs are drawn from Health and Safety Executive (HSE) staff  and are approved by the GCC Containment Working Group (CWG) or GCC-CWG.

In 2016 there were 10 potential PEFs in the UK, however by 2025 this number has reduced to only one designated PEF for the UK which is hosted in a government laboratory facility. The other facilities were advised by the NAC to cease work with live polio virus or use alternative extensively attenuated and genetically stable strains, which maintain the same antigenicity and immunogenicity compared to the reference poliovirus strains.

Potentially infectious materials – UKHSA survey

Facilities that collect, handle or store clinical or environmental samples for purposes other than polio-related work also present a poliovirus transmission risk. The WHO has produced guidance to assist facilities in assessing the risk of release of poliovirus potentially infectious materials (PIM) in their possession and to implement appropriate risk reduction consistent with WHO: ‘Guidance to minimize risks for facilities colleting, handling or storing materials potentially infectious for polioviruses’.

In order to identify facilities in the UK that hold PIM, the NAC has commissioned UKHSA to conduct a PIM survey amongst facilities that collect, handle or store clinical or environmental samples for purposes other than polio-related work.

Membership

Name	Role in committee	Affiliation
Professor Paul Griffiths	Chairperson	Emeritus Professor of Virology, University College, London
Professor Nick Grassly	Deputy Chair	Professor of Infectious Diseases and Vaccine Epidemiology, Imperial College, London
Dr Philip Minor	Member	Retired (in 2017) from role as head of the Division of Virology, National Institute for Biological Standards and Controls (NIBSC), UK
Dr David Allen	Member	Honorary Associate Professor in Virology, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey
Dr Kevin Brown	Member	Retired from role of consultant Virologist, in the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
Professor Tom Evans	Member	Professor of Molecular Microbiology (Bacteriology), Dean of Global Engagement (Middle East and Africa), School of Infection and Immunity, University of Glasgow (also, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens)
Dr Kate Templeton	Member	Consultant Clinical Scientist, NHS Lothian, based in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh
Dr Lorna Willocks	Member representing Scottish government	Senior Medical Officer, Health Protection and Immunisation, CMO Directorate, Scottish Government
Dr Naresh Chada	Member representing Government of Northern Ireland	Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Public Health, CMO Group, Department of Health, Northern Ireland
Dr Thom Waite	Member representing English government	Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health and Social Care
Dr Keith Reid	Member representing Welsh government	Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Public Health, Social Care and Early Years Group, Welsh government

Secretariat

Secretariat support for the UK NAC is provided by an individual working in the UKHSA.