US: First case of ‘Polio virus’ confirmed in New York
The virus has not been found in New York for nearly a decade, but there is now a case there.
According to the state and county health departments, the case was confirmed in a resident of Rockland County, which is located about 36 miles north of New York City. This is the first case since 2013.
The patient has paralysis, but is no longer thought to be contagious, according to the AP. The patient had previously received an oral polio vaccine, which are no longer given in the United States, according to tests conducted by the state health department’s lab and confirmed by the CDC.
Since 2000, the only polio vaccines that have been approved in the United States use inactivated vaccines, which use dead disease-causing germs.
Due to a high inoculation rate after the introduction of the polio vaccine in 1955, cases significantly declined in the late 1950s and early 1960s. 2019 saw just 175 cases reported globally, according to the World Health Organization.
The highly contagious virus, which is typically transmitted orally through feces or saliva, can severely harm the muscles and spine. According to the CDC, 25% of people will have flu-like symptoms like nausea, fever, and fatigue, while approximately 72% of people will not show any outward signs.
According to the CDC, the infected occasionally exhibit more severe and potentially fatal symptoms, such as paralysis (0.5%) or meningitis (4%)—a spinal infection.
For those who are infected, symptoms may take up to 30 days to manifest.
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