Polio

The state department of health said the person, who was not identified, was infected with a type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus.

In a coordinated move called “the switch,” countries around the world were told to stop using trivalent oral vaccine — vaccine that contained all three types of polioviruses — and begin to use a bivalent form that did not include type 2. “Countries, territories, and areas should also maintain uniformly high routine immunization coverage … to protect children from polio and to minimize the consequences of any new virus being introduced.” But recently it was discovered that viruses from Pakistan had made their way to Malawi and Mozambique, a highly unwelcome development. But the remaining version, type 1, has defied efforts to end its spread to date. Mary Bassett, New York State’s health commissioner, said people who are vaccinated against polio do not face a risk from the newly discovered case. But as they spread, the vaccine viruses can regain the power to paralyze.

The first U.S. case of polio in nearly a decade has been confirmed in an unvaccinated individual in Rockland County, N.Y., local and state health officials ...

However some people can become infected from a weakened strain of the virus that was used to make the oral polio vaccine early on. Cases of vaccine-derived polio “are not caused by a child receiving the polio vaccine.” Individuals who are already vaccinated but are at risk of exposure should receive a booster, which will also be available at the clinics. The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a drop in routine immunization rates, according to recent reports. “The fact that it is still around decades after the vaccine was created shows you just how relentless it is. Due to the success of a national vaccination program after the vaccine was introduced in 1955, polio cases were cut dramatically. Oral poliovirus vaccine, or OPV, is still used throughout much of the world. This case suggests that the virus may have originated in a location where the oral vaccine is administered, outside of the United States, the alert from New York state and Rockland County said. Symptoms, which can be mild and flu-like, can take up to 30 days to appear, during which time an infected individual can shed the virus to others. While still rare, more recent polio infections in the United States were imported through travel or contact with someone who had received oral polio vaccine in another country. Inactivated poliovirus vaccine, or IPV, is given as an injection in the leg or arm, depending on the patient’s age. Polio is a life-threatening viral disease that causes permanent paralysis in people who are not fully vaccinated in about 5 out of every 1,000 cases.

The patient, who has developed paralysis but is no longer contagious according to the AP, may have contracted the virus overseas. The CDC says no cases of ...

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The polio case in the US presented with weakness and paralysis, said the Rockland County health commissioner.

We need to get these shots in arms," she said. The last naturally occurring cases of polio in America were reported in 1979. The latest case was a type "indicative of a transmission chain from an individual who received the oral polio vaccine (OPV)", officials said.

The polio vaccine was introduced in the US in 1955 with the last known naturally occurring case of the virus reported in 1979. New York health officials added ...

Person who tested positive in New York state no longer contagious, but investigators are checking if others exposed.

In rare instances, the weakened virus can mutate into a form capable of sparking new outbreaks. But some countries where polio has been more of a recent threat use a weakened live virus that is given to children as drops in the mouth. The CDC, which confirmed Thursday’s case, has said no cases of polio have originated in the US since 1979. Polio was once one of the nation’s most feared diseases, with annual outbreaks causing thousands of cases of paralysis. A 2018-2019 measles outbreak there infected 312 people. The person is no longer deemed contagious, but investigators are trying to figure out how the infection occurred and whether others were exposed.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), polio is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus spreads ...

In 2021, there were six reported cases, according to the WHO. - According to the WHO, paralysis can occur within a few hours of infection. As of 2020, type one affects only two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan. The person is no longer deemed contagious, but investigators are trying to figure out how the infection occurred and whether others were exposed. Asevere caseof polio involves nerve injury that can lead to paralysis, breathing difficulties and even death. These treatments could improve mobility but cannot reverse permanent polio paralysis.

The unvaccinated young adult began experiencing weakness and paralysis about a month ago, county Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said Thursday ...

The last naturally occurring case of polio in the US was in 1979. in 1952, the virus infected 58,000 people in the US, paralyzed more than 21,000 and killed more than 3,100. County health officials reported at the time that only 8% of people there had been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella before the outbreak began. The oral polio vaccine is no longer authorized for use in this country. Health officials think the strain of virus the individual contracted originated this way. Officials said the individual is not expected to be contagious right now because they are past that window of time and have normal immune function.

Experts warn that the virus poses a health risk to unvaccinated communities.

Cefalu tells STAT News that while officials are still investigating, they do not believe the individual recently traveled to a country where this type of the virus is spreading. While about three in four people infected with the virus will not experience any symptoms, about one in four experience flu-like symptoms, and about one in 200 experience paralysis or weakness in the arms, legs, or both. Walter Orenstein, a polio expert at Emory University, tells STAT News, “If there are unvaccinated communities, it can cause a polio outbreak. The New York State Department of Health said in a statement that the unvaccinated individual was infected with a type of the virus spread by someone who received an oral polio vaccine that has not been used in the U.S. since 2000, but is still used in other countries. “But if you haven’t gotten your kids vaccinated, it’s really important that you make sure they’re up to date.” “If you’re vaccinated, it’s not something you need to worry about,” Nuzzo says.

Investigators are now working to determine specifically how the infection happened and whether others were exposed, while health officials have scheduled ...

Still, that weakened live virus can, in rare cases, mutate into a form that can cause new outbreaks, the AP reported. It was found in London sewage samples last month, causing the British government to issue a warning to parents about vaccines. About 93% of 2-year-old children in the United States have received at least three doses of the vaccine. Polio was declared eliminated in the United States in 1979. "Based on what we know about this case, and polio in general, the [New York] Department of Health strongly recommends that unvaccinated individuals get vaccinated or boosted with the FDA-approved IPV polio vaccine as soon as possible," State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said in a statement. "Many of you may be too young to remember polio, but when I was growing up, this disease struck fear in families, including my own," Rockland County Executive Ed Day said in a statement.

Dr. William Burgoyne gives a shot of the Salk polio vaccine to Michael Urnezis, 6, while the boy's sister, Joanne, 12, a polio patient, watches in 1955 in San ...

The most dangerous version of polio can cause paralysis within "a matter of hours," the WHO said. People carrying the poliovirus, including those without symptoms, can spread the highly contagious virus for weeks in their feces. This vaccine's formulation has a mixture of each of the three types of live attenuated poliovirus strains, according to GPEI. One type of wild polio virus still circulates in Pakistan and Afghanistan, however, and can be picked up by travelers and carried worldwide. An enterovirus called the poliovirus causes polio. During 20th century epidemics, the virus often struck in warm summer months, sweeping through towns and cities every year or so.

The good news is most people have nothing to worry about. "Unless you're unvaccinated," according to retired family physician and polio survivor Marny Eulberg.

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