The vaccine-derived poliovirus, which left an unvaccinated US citizen with the first case of paralytic polio in almost a decade, has been genetically linked to spreading to two other countries: the United Kingdom and Israel. Now that it has been detected in the US, health officials fear it has spread to hundreds or even thousands of people in a poorly vaccinated New York county.
On Monday, officials in New York urged unvaccinated residents to do so get vaccinated “as soon as possible”. to prevent further spread of the virus.
“Polio is very contagious, and a person can transmit the virus even if they are not sick,” the New York State Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release today. The virus spreads easily through a fecal-oral route through poor sanitation and sanitation. The virus is transmitted through direct contact with an infected person or contaminated food or water. “It can take up to 30 days for symptoms to appear, which can be mild and flu-like. During this time, an infected person can spread viruses to others,” the health department added.
Around one in 200 people People infected with the poliovirus develop paralysis, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means that for the one case of paralytic polio that emerged in New York – which wasn’t linked to international travel – hundreds of others were likely already infected.
danger pockets
Most Americans are vaccinated against the polio virus, which protects them from the dangerous virus. That three doses of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which is given for the first 24 months with a fourth booster shot between ages 4 and 6, is part of the CDC’s standard immunization schedule. According to 2015 CDC data almost 93 percent of US children received their three doses of IPV at age 2 years.
But the New York case of paralytic polio was found in Rockland County, a northern suburb of New York City, which has areas with low immunization rates. In fact, the county struggled with an explosive measles outbreak in 2019 due to the same issue.
According to the state health department, Rockland County currently has a polio immunization rate of just 60.5 percent among 2-year-olds, compared to the statewide average of 79 percent.
The paralyzed case in Rockland, which occurred in an unvaccinated young adult, was first reported by authorities on July 21, but the person’s symptoms began in June. Since then, the transfer has probably continued, with Epidemiologists now say thousands could be infected.
Multinational distribution
And that’s just in the US. On Friday, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) announced that the strain of vaccine-derived poliovirus is behind the Rockland case — a type 2 VDPV genetically linked to viruses discovered in sewage samples in London and Jerusalemindicating an ongoing, multinational spread of the dangerous virus.
To be clear, vaccine-derived poliovirus strains are evolving from oral polio vaccines (OPV) that are no longer used in the US or UK. (Israel uses both IPV and OPV.) The oral polio vaccines use weakened viruses that, when allowed to spread from person to person with poor sanitation and low vaccination rates, can mutate to regain their disease-causing abilities. It is unclear where and how this VDPV2 originated and spread.
“It is vital that all countries, particularly those with high levels of travel and exposure to polio-affected countries and territories, step up surveillance to quickly detect any new virus introduction and enable a rapid response,” said GPEI. “Countries, territories and areas should also maintain a uniformly high level of routine immunization coverage, including at the county and administrative level, to protect children from polio and minimize the consequences of introducing a new virus.”
Officials in New York are heeding that call, opening vaccination clinics and urging residents to queue for shots, especially for children.
“Polio is a dangerous disease with potentially devastating consequences,” New York State Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a statement. “In the United States, we are extremely fortunate to have the vital protection provided by the polio vaccine, which has protected our country and New Yorkers for over 60 years. With the rapid spread of polio, now is the time for every adult, parent, and guardian to get themselves and their children vaccinated as soon as possible.”
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