New York Reports First Ever Case Of Polio, Nearly After A Decade: What You Need To Know

State and local health officials announced on Thursday that an adult resident of suburban New York City had been diagnosed with polio following paralysis a month ago. This is the nation’s first confirmed case of polio in nearly a decade.

According to tests, the highly contagious and long-feared virus may have originated outside of the United States in Rockland County. According to the state, this is the first case the CDC has confirmed in the United States since 2013 [1].

To investigate, proactively respond, and urge vaccination, the state is coordinating with the Rockland County Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Also, medical practitioners have been advised to keep an eye out for other potential cases [2].

• The authorities are currently conducting a survey of this individual’s family and close contacts to assess the risks to the community.
• A Rockland County resident was diagnosed with weakness and paralysis about a month ago.
• It was determined that the patient was no longer contagious.
• It is still unclear how or where the infected Rockland County resident was exposed.
• According to health officials, the individual was not vaccinated.
• Upon analysis by the state, health experts determined that the case was caused by a strain of weakened virus used overseas in oral polio vaccines that can sometimes cause an infection and has been discontinued in the United States since 2000.
• A revertant polio Sabin type 2 virus was detected in the case announced on Thursday. Health officials said it indicates that it had been transmitted from an individual who received an oral polio vaccine.
• Doctors declined to reveal the individual’s current condition, prognosis or whether the paralysis would be permanent.
• Since the inactivated polio vaccine has been administered in the U.S. since 2000, the case suggests that it may have originated abroad. The last time that occurred was in 1993, according to the CDC [3].
• According to the CDC, an infected traveller can also introduce a naturally occurring, or “wild,” virus into the country [4].
• CDC, who confirmed the polio diagnosis, have stated that no cases of the disease have been reported since 1979 in the country.
• The last known case of polio in the United States was traced to an oral vaccine administered in 2013 [5].

What Is Polio?

A sore throat, fever, fatigue and nausea are some of the symptoms of polio, which are often asymptomatic. However, a small percentage of cases may result in irreversible paralysis caused by the virus [6].

Although there is no cure for polio, vaccination can prevent infection – and a dramatic reduction in cases worldwide has been attributed to intensive national and regional immunization campaigns among young children and babies in recent decades.

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Polio Cases In India

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared India and ten other countries in the Southeast Asia Region as polio-free in 2014. In India, no new polio cases have been reported since January 2011. In addition, there is no evidence that VDPVs are circulating in the community [7].

From countries that are still reporting cases of polio, India continues to be at risk of importing wild poliovirus (WPV) and vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) [8].

Story first published: Friday, July 22, 2022, 16:38 [IST]

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