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An unvaccinated Rockland County, N.Y., resident exposed to a person who received an oral polio vaccine contracted the neurological disease and is now paralyzed, according to Rockland County and state health officials. New York on Thursday, as Fox News Digital previously reported.
The case raises the issue of polio vaccines and what Americans should know to protect their health.
“Based on what we know about this case and polio in general, the Department of Health strongly recommends that unvaccinated people be vaccinated or boosted with FDA-approved IPV. [inactivated] polio vaccine as soon as possible,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said in a New York State Department of Health statement provided to Fox News Digital.
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Health officials said Thursday that the oral vaccine, which contains live strands of the poliovirus, is no longer used in the U.S.
However, it is still used in many countries, including those in Eastern Europe.
Officials could not confirm where the person who received the oral polio vaccine was from or where the person who is ill met that person.
The patient began experiencing symptoms about a month ago; state and county health officials began investigating and tracing contacts.
A woman is shown with a bandage on her arm where she received a vaccine. The oral polio vaccine has not been used in the US since 2000. (iStock)
They could not confirm where the person who received the oral polio vaccine was from or where the person who is sick met that person. (The identity of the patient has not been released.)
The public health laboratory of the New York State Department of Health showed “reversing Sabin polio virus type 2, according to a news release.
The United States stopped using the oral polio vaccine (OPV) in 2000 and instead uses the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which does not contain the live virus.
“This is indicative of a chain of transmission from a person who received the oral polio vaccine (OPV), which is no longer licensed or administered in the US.”
The statement also said, “This suggests that the virus may have originated at a site outside the United States where OPV is administered, as revertant strains cannot arise from inactivated vaccines.”
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also confirmed these findings, the statement noted.
Officials said during the conference that the US stopped using the oral polio vaccine (OPV) in 2000 and instead uses the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which does not contain the live virus.
In this February 2015 photo, a Pakistani health worker vaccinates a child against polio at a bus terminal in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP)
Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said during this week’s press conference that IPV “does not cause polio.”
He said that the IPV used in the US is inactive and therefore will not change or mutate.
“Therefore, there is no risk of transmission to others,” he said.
What is polio?
Poliomyelitis, or poliomyelitis, is a viral disease that affects the nervous system. It can lead to muscle weakness and, in some cases, paralysis and death, health experts say.
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Doctors told Fox Digital News that poliovirus is usually transmitted when contaminated fecal matter from an infected person enters the body through the mouth, usually from hands that contain the fecal matter.
It can also occur by respiratory and oral-to-oral transmission through saliva.
This 2014 illustration provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) depicts a polio virus particle. (Sarah Poser, Meredith Boyter Newlove/CDC via AP)
Rockland County experts explained during the press conference that polio is highly contagious.
A person can shed the virus, thereby infecting others, even when that person does not appear to be ill.
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A person may start showing symptoms up to 30 days later. According to health experts, these symptoms can range from mild flu-like symptoms such as vomiting, fever, headache and muscle stiffness to more severe symptoms such as muscle weakness and even paralysis.
Rupert explained during the conference that children in the US usually receive the inactivated polio vaccine at 2 months of age, then a second dose at 4 months and a third dose between 6 months and 18 months of age.
Symptoms can range from mild flu-like symptoms such as vomiting, fever, headache and muscle stiffness to more severe symptoms such as muscle weakness, even paralysis.
Then they receive a booster between the ages of 4 and 6. It is a mandatory vaccine before going to school.
Dr. Aaron Glatt, MD, MACP, is the chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Long Island, NY
Glatt, also chairman of Mount Sinai’s Department of Medicine, is not affiliated with the case in Rockland County, but spoke to Fox Digital News about live vaccines like OPV and the possibility of contracting polio from someone who had been given the live vaccine
A small boy receives polio vaccine drops during a polio campaign in a low-income neighborhood in Karachi, Pakistan, July 20, 2020. (REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo)
“An unvaccinated or immunocompromised person is potentially capable of contracting polio in this situation and should avoid being around a person who recently had OPV,” he said.
“In theory, the polio virus can be shed for up to two months after receiving OPV.”
Glatt explained that in the United States, health professionals prefer IPV so that children have immunity if they are exposed to polio without the potential to spread the virus to others.
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Dr. Jennifer L. Lighter, MD, an infectious disease specialist at NYU Langone in New York City, told Fox Digital News that OPV is still used because it is considered an important tool to control polio in the whole world, because it’s easy. to administer, is low-cost and induces mucosal immunity.
In the United States, health professionals prefer IPV so that children will have immunity if exposed to polio without the potential to transmit the virus to others.
The hospital epidemiologist did not know the details of the Rockland County case, but said OPV can be spread to others.
Lighter said in an email to Fox Digital News: “Rarely (about 1 in a million), OPV can cause paralysis in immunocompromised children. For an extremely rare effect in immunocompromised children, the US stopped use OPV”.
A health worker is shown administering a vaccine on March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Lighter cautioned that those who are immunocompromised should talk to their doctor about vaccines. The infectious disease expert said that while OPV is not offered in the United States, some other vaccines such as the measles, mumps, rubella or varicella vaccine are live attenuated immunizations .
Lighter said immunocompromised people should discuss what steps they should take if they encounter a child or individual who has some type of live vaccine.
Polio vaccination is important, Lighter emphasized.
Polio was almost eradicated thanks to the vaccine developed in 1955.
“Polio immunization represents one of humanity’s great achievements,” he said. “In the US before the vaccine, there were about 50,000 cases of paralytic polio and 3,000 deaths in the US each year from polio.”
Health experts Fox Digital News spoke with said polio was nearly eradicated thanks to the vaccine developed in 1955.
According to the CDC, almost all children (99 out of 100) who receive all recommended doses of polio vaccine will be protected from the disease.
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On its website, the CDC said the United States has been polio-free since 1979, thanks to the widespread use of the polio vaccine. The CDC also said the best way to keep the disease at bay is to keep the population’s immunity high against polio through vaccination.
The unvaccinated should talk to their doctors
The New York State Department of Health and the Rockland County Health Department advised doctors and health care providers to monitor for additional cases.
Those already vaccinated are considered to be at lower risk, officials said.
Health officials said this week that they are concerned there are doubts about the vaccine because of the COVID pandemic.
However, people who are unvaccinated, including those who are pregnant, those who have not previously completed their polio vaccine series, or members of the community who are concerned that they may have been exposed, should consult with their doctor about receiving the vaccine.
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Health officials said this week that they are concerned there are doubts about the vaccine because of the COVID pandemic.
State and county officials are urging residents to get vaccinated against polio.
“Vaccines have protected our health against old and new viruses for decades,” New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in a news release.
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“The fact is, the urgency for safe and effective vaccines has always been here, and we need New Yorkers to protect themselves against completely preventable viruses like polio.”
Pop-up polio vaccination clinics have been set up last week and also next week.
Amy McGorry is a…