Expand / Transmission electron micrograph of poliovirus type 1.
The vaccine-derived poliovirus that left an unvaccinated U.S. resident with the country’s first case of paralytic polio in nearly a decade has been genetically linked to the spread in 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 an under-vaccinated New York county.
On Monday, New York officials urgently encouraged unvaccinated residents to get vaccinated “as soon as possible” to prevent further spread of the virus.
“Polio is highly contagious and a person can spread the virus even if they are not sick,” the New York State Department of Health said in a news release today. The virus is easily spread by faecal-oral route due to poor hygiene and sanitation. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with an infected person or contaminated food or water. “Symptoms, which can be mild and flu-like, can take up to 30 days to appear, during which time an infected person can spread the virus to others,” the health department added.
About one in 200 people infected with poliovirus develop paralysis, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This means that for the one case of paralytic polio that arose in New York, which was not linked to any international travel, probably hundreds of others were already infected.
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Most Americans have been vaccinated against the poliovirus, which protects them from the dangerous virus. The three-dose inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), given in the first 24 months with a fourth booster dose between ages 4 and 6, is part of the CDC’s standard immunization schedule. According to 2015 CDC data, nearly 93 percent of American children received their three doses of IPV by age 2.
But the paralytic polio case in New York was found in Rockland County, a northern suburb of New York City, which has pockets of low vaccination rates. In fact, in 2019, the county battled an explosive measles outbreak due to the same problem.
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According to the state health department, Rockland County currently has a polio vaccination rate of just 60.5 percent among 2-year-olds, compared to the state average of 79 percent.
The paralytic 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, transmission likely continued, and epidemiologists now say thousands of people may be infected.
Multinational broadcasting
And that’s just in the US. On Friday, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) announced that the strain of vaccine-derived poliovirus behind the Rockland case, a VDPV type 2, is genetically related to viruses detected in sewage samples in London and Jerusalem, which suggests a sustained multinational spread. of the dangerous virus.
To be clear, vaccine-derived poliovirus strains evolved from oral polio vaccines (OPVs), which are no longer used in the US or UK. (Israel uses both IPV and OPV.) Oral polio vaccines use weakened viruses that, if spread from person to person amid poor sanitation and low vaccination rates, can mutate to regain the abilities to cause diseases It is unclear where and how this VDPV2 originated and spread.
“It is vital that all countries, particularly those with a high volume of travel and contact with polio-affected countries and areas, strengthen surveillance to quickly detect any importation of new virus and facilitate a rapid response,” GPEI said. “Countries, territories and areas should also maintain uniformly high routine immunization coverage at the district level and at the lowest administrative level to protect children from polio and minimize the consequences of any new virus that is introduced” .
New York officials are heeding that call, opening vaccination clinics and urging residents to line up for shots, especially 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 very fortunate to have the crucial protection available from polio vaccination, which has protected our country and New Yorkers for more than 60 years. Given how quickly polio can spread, now it’s time for every adult, parent, and guardian to vaccinate themselves and their children as soon as possible.”