A case of polio has been discovered in New York, marking the first time the disease has been reported in the US in nearly a decade.
Here’s what you need to know about polio and how to protect yourself from the disease.
What is polio? How is polio contracted?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), polio is a virus that can affect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis, which can lead to permanent disability and death.
Polio is a highly contagious virus that is spread through person-to-person contact, and the virus often lives in a person’s throat or intestines.
Polio only infects people and is spread through feces or droplets from an infected person’s sneeze or cough.
How do I protect myself from polio? Are polio vaccines still necessary in the US?
The CDC recommends that people start getting polio vaccines in childhood. The organization says people should get four shots starting at 2 months of age, 4 months of age, 6 to 18 months and 4 to 6 years.
Most adults do not need the polio vaccine because they were vaccinated as children. But there are some cases, according to the CDC, when some adults who are at risk should consider getting vaccinated:
- If you are traveling to a foreign country with a high risk of polio transmission
- You work in a laboratory and handle samples containing the poliovirus
- You are a healthcare worker who treats patients who may have polio, or you have close contact with someone infected with the poliovirus.
Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) is the only type of polio vaccine given in the US
What are the polio vaccination requirements for children in New Jersey?
In New Jersey, children entering a daycare or preschool program must have a minimum of three doses of a polio vaccine by the time they turn 18 months old, according to the NJ Department of Health.
For kindergarten or first grade, children should receive three to four doses of a polio vaccine. For second grade or higher, children should receive a minimum of three doses.
However, students aged 18 and over are exempt from this requirement.
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