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On Thursday, the New York Department of Health reported a case of polio in a resident of Rockland County, New York.
This is the first case in the United States in almost 10 years.
The ministry said it was identified by sequencing at the Wadsworth Center, a public health laboratory, and confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Sequencing showed a reverting polio Sabin type 2 virus.
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“This shows the chain of infections from individuals who have received an oral polio vaccine (OPV) that has been approved or no longer administered in the United States, where only inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has been given since 2000,” the agency said. Stated. I have written. “This suggests that the virus may have originated outside the United States where OPV is being administered, as reverted strains are unlikely to emerge from the inactivated vaccine.”
Polio is endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The New York State Department of Health, the Rockland County Department of Health, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Health are continuing case studies and coordinating to “proactively respond.”
Poliovirus, a viral disease that affects the nervous system and can cause muscle weakness, usually invades through the mouth.
It is usually transmitted by infected hands contaminated with feces, but saliva-mediated respiratory and mouth-to-mouth infections can also occur.
Polio is highly contagious and can spread the virus without being ill. The majority of people infected with polio are asymptomatic.
Symptoms are mild and flu-like, and it can take up to 30 days for symptoms to appear. In the meantime, infected individuals can spread the virus to others.
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In rare cases, it can lead to paralysis and death.
The success of the polio vaccine introduced in 1955 dramatically reduced cases in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The last case of spontaneous polio in the United States was reported in 1979, and the last confirmed case in the United States was recorded by the CDC in 2013.
Polio vaccine is part of the school vaccination schedule required for all children. According to the latest CDC data, about 93% of 2-year-olds have been vaccinated with at least three polio vaccines.
Everyone who has never completed the polio vaccine series, or members of Rockland County who are concerned that they may have been exposed to the virus, should be vaccinated at a local clinic.
People who have already been vaccinated and are considered low risk, but who are at risk of exposure should receive booster immunity.
The first clinic in Rockland County, NY is located at the Pomona Health Complex from 10 am to 12 pm on Fridays. A second clinic will be held on Monday at the same location. We accept carry-on.
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Authorities advise practitioners and healthcare providers to be vigilant for additional cases.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.