A case of polio was identified in an unvaccinated adult man in Rockland County, officials said.
The New York State Department of Health and its Rockland County counterparts have confirmed that the infection was transmitted from people who received an oral polio vaccine that had not been administered in the United States since 2000. Authorities said in a news release that the virus may have an outbreak outside the United States where oral vaccines are still being administered.
“I want to emphasize that this individual is no longer contagious,” Rockland County executive Ed Day said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. “Our efforts are currently focused on two issues: vaccination and knowing if anyone else is affected by the disease.”
Unvaccinated or Have not completed their vaccination series Officials said they should be vaccinated. Current cases of polio show a very low risk to those who have already been vaccinated against polio. People who receive all three injections are almost 100% protected.
The person’s symptoms began about a month ago, Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Rupert said at a news conference. She said the patient presented with “weakness and paralysis” and was notified to the department about the confirmed case on Monday.
Progress on polio
The highly contagious virus was one of the most feared diseases until the 1950s, when the first vaccine was developed.
“We are currently investigating close relationships with this individual’s family to assess risk to the community,” said Dr. Rupert. She did not share additional information about the patient’s current health or prognosis.
Health officials did not reveal the patient’s gender, but local elected officials said he was a man in the Orthodox Jewish community. In 2018 and 2019, there were measles outbreaks concentrated in ultra-Orthodox Jews in Rockland County. Its vaccination rate tended to be lower than that of the larger population. In that outbreak, more than 150 people were infected with measles.
The Last case of polio In the United States, in 2013, there was a person who brought this disease from abroad. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been no cases in the United States since 1979.
The disease was one of the most feared in the country until the 1950s, when the first vaccine was developed.
According to state data, 60% of 2-year-olds in Rockland County receive all three doses of polio vaccine. This is significantly lower than 80% of the rest of the state except New York City.
To achieve polio herd immunity Target vaccination rate According to the World Health Organization, it’s 80 percent.
The turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has reduced vaccination rates for regular immunity for children All over the world When In the United States, According to some studies. False information and distrust associated with the Covid vaccine are also affecting childhood immunization rates as more parents are expressing concern about long-established vaccines.
Dr. Amesh A. Adalha, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Health and Security Center, said vaccine hesitation “opportunities to cause damage” to vaccine-derived polio strains in communities with large pockets of unvaccinated people. He said he could give it.
Polio is highly contagious, the Ministry of Health said in a news release. The disease can spread without symptoms such as fatigue, fever, headache, muscle aches, and vomiting. In rare cases, polio cases can lead to paralysis and death.
Oral vaccines are safe and effective and are still being administered in countries with more restricted access to the vaccine. However, people who have been vaccinated with an oral vaccine that contains a weakened version of the virus may shed the virus.
The shedding feature was initially considered an advantage, Dr. Adalja said.
“It mimics natural infections, people shed viruses, vaccine viruses, it spreads to others, and they are immunized that way,” he said. In very rare cases, he said, the virus in the vaccine can mutate as it travels from person to person, causing paralysis in unvaccinated people.
In the United States, instead of live virus, polio vaccine containing inactivated virus is injected.
Jesse McKinley Contribution report.
