Thursday, officials in New York state announced that they had discovered the first case of polio in the United States in nearly ten years.
An unvaccinated man in Rockland County contracted polio from someone who had received the oral polio vaccine, according to a press release issued jointly by the New York State Department of Health and the Rockland County Department of Health (OPV). This is an instance of poliovirus infection caused by a vaccine-derived virus (VDPV).
Because the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has been used exclusively by states in the United States since the year 2000, and the oral polio vaccine (OPV) is no longer permitted or administered here, health officials have concluded that the outbreak must have begun elsewhere.
Officials have stated that vaccinating the unvaccinated population and discovering whether or not anyone else has been infected with the virus are their top priorities now that the unidentified patient is "no longer contagious."
According to State Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH, "based on what we know about this case and polio in general, the Department of Health strongly recommends that unvaccinated individuals get vaccinated or boosted with the FDA-approved IPV vaccine as soon as possible." The polio vaccine has been a cornerstone of mandatory, routine childhood immunization recommended by health officials and public health agencies across the country because it is both safe and effective at protecting against this potentially debilitating disease.
Can You Explain Polio?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus that can be severely debilitating or even fatal (CDC). Because the virus can infect the spinal cord, it can cause paralysis.
There was widespread fear in the United States during the late 1940s because of polio outbreaks that left more than 35,000 people annually (mostly children) paralyzed. This number included President Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, thanks to the development and widespread distribution of a vaccine, polio has been eradicated in the United States.
The virus is transmitted from person to person through direct contact with feces or through respiratory droplets. Infected people can spread the virus up to two weeks before they show symptoms, for up to two weeks after they do, and even if they aren't sick at all.
Most people infected with poliovirus won't show any outward symptoms, but about a quarter will exhibit flu-like symptoms, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among these symptoms are:
- Fever Sore Throat
- Fatigue \sNausea
- Headache
- Ache in the guts
However, less than one percent of the population will experience severe symptoms affecting the brain and spinal cord. Those are:
Nerve pain/numbness in the legs caused by vaccine-derived polio versus naturally occurring polio
The New York patient contracted vaccine-derived poliovirus, a strain of the virus that is distinct from the wild poliovirus that was used to create vaccines. According to the CDC, vaccine-derived poliovirus is a strain of the attenuated poliovirus that was originally included in the oral poliovirus vaccine.
The oral poliovirus vaccine contains a weakened strain of the poliovirus that can be shed by immunized individuals into the environment via feces or mucus. For this reason, the United States abandoned the oral vaccine in the year 2000 in favor of the safer inactivated poliovirus vaccine, which does not contain any live virus.
The poliovirus used in vaccines has evolved to more closely resemble the virus found in the wild. "It can mutate and has the potential to cause disease in individuals," said Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York, in an interview with Health. "It evolves and becomes more virulent in nearly all of these vaccine-derived cases."
While the likelihood of contracting polio from a vaccine is low in the United States, it is not so low in countries that continue to use the oral poliovirus vaccine; therefore, for polio to be eradicated worldwide, the world would have to stop using that vaccine.
According to Health, Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, believes that vaccine-derived polio should be treated as a distinct issue from wild polio. That danger will persist "as long as Sabin vaccine [oral poliovirus vaccine] is used in parts of the world."
There is a Great Danger for Those Who Have Not Been Vaccinated
In the United States, the inactivated poliovirus vaccine is given to children as part of their regular vaccination schedule. Four doses of the polio vaccine are recommended by the CDC for children between the ages of
Infants aged 2 months
Baby is 4 months old
Ages 6-18 months
Extra dose between the ages of 4 and 6
In addition, adults who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or whose vaccination status is unknown and who are traveling to areas with an increased risk of polio should receive three doses of the vaccine at the following intervals:
Split the doses into two and give them 1–2 months apart.
After 6-12 months, take a single dose.
Even adults who have previously been vaccinated against polio should get a booster shot before visiting high-risk areas.
Unfortunately, not everyone in the United States has been immunized. Medical school professor and infectious disease specialist Dr. Richard Watkins from Northeast Ohio Medical University told Health that those who choose not to get the vaccine, especially children, are putting themselves and others in danger.
Dr. Russo has stated that the recent polio case in New York serves as "a good wakeup call" in this regard. "Due to COVID, some households fell behind on vaccinating their children. Please get vaccinated, even if your children have already been."
Although this new polio case is concerning, it poses little threat to the general population who have been immunized. Vaccination rates in the United States are extremely high, according to William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, who spoke with Health. The focus right now is on people who know this person.
The Rockland County Health Department is holding a polio vaccine clinic today through Monday for anyone who has not been vaccinated, who did not finish the full series of polio vaccines, or who is worried they may have been exposed to the polio virus. People who are likely to be exposed may also get a booster shot of the vaccine.
The inflammation and infection of the meninges (the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord).
Failure to move forward (inability to move parts of the body)
