An unvaccinated Rockland County, N.Y., resident exposed to a person given an oral polio vaccine contracted the neurological disease and is now paralyzed, according to Rockland County and New York state health officials Thursday, as Fox News Digital reported earlier. early.
The case raises the question of polio vaccinations — and what Americans need to 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 individuals 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 release from the New York State Department of Health provided to Fox News Digital.
Health officials said Thursday that an oral vaccine that contains live strands of the poliovirus is no longer being used in the U.S.
However, it is still used in many countries, including those in Eastern Europe.
The patient started experiencing symptoms about a month ago; State and county health officials have begun an investigation and contact tracing.
They could not confirm where the individual who received the oral polio vaccine was from, or where a sick person met that person. (The identity of the patient has not been released.)
An unvaccinated Rockland resident exposed to a person who had received oral polio vaccine contracted the deadly disease. Sarah Poser, Meredith Boyter Newlove/CDC via AP
The New York State Department of Health’s Public Health Laboratory has demonstrated “reverting Sabin polio virus type 2, according to a news release.
“This is indicative of a chain of transmission from an individual who received the oral polio vaccine (OPV), which is no longer licensed or administered in the US.”
The release also said, “This suggests that the virus may have originated at a site outside the US where OPV is administered, as revertant strains cannot emerge from inactivated vaccines.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also confirmed these findings, the release noted.
Officials said at 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.
Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Rupert said during this week’s press conference that IPV “does not cause polio.”
She said the IPV used in the US is deactivated and therefore will not change or mutate.
“So there is no risk of transmission to others,” she said.
What is polio?
Poliomyelitis or poliomyelitis is a viral disease that affects the nervous system. This can cause muscle weakness and in some cases paralysis and death, according to health experts.
Doctors explained to Fox Digital News that poliovirus is usually transmitted when contaminated fecal matter of an infected person enters the body through the mouth, usually from hands containing fecal matter.
It can also occur through respiratory and oral-oral transmission via saliva.
Rockland County experts explained during the press conference that polio is highly contagious.
Health officials said the oral vaccine – which contains live versions of the poliovirus – is no longer used in the USPhoto by ARIF ALI/AFP via Getty Images
A person can shed the virus – therefore infecting others – even when that person does not appear to be ill.
A person can start showing symptoms up to 30 days after that. These symptoms can range from mild flu-like symptoms — including vomiting, fever, headache and muscle stiffness — to more severe symptoms such as muscle weakness and even paralysis, according to health experts.
Rupert explained at the conference that children in the US typically receive an inactivated polio vaccine at 2 months of age — then a second dose at 4 months of age and a third dose between 6 months and 18 months of age.
They then receive a booster between the ages of 4 and 6. This is a mandatory vaccination before attending school.
Dr. Aaron Glatt, MD, MACP, is Chief of Infectious Diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau on Long Island, New York
Glatt — also chair of the Mount Sinai Department of Medicine — is not connected to the Rockland County case, but spoke to Fox Digital News about live vaccines like OPV and the possibility of contracting polio from someone who has been given a live vaccine.
“An unvaccinated or immunocompromised person is potentially capable of contracting polio in this situation and should avoid being around a person who has recently had OPV,” he said.
“Theoretically, polio virus can be shed up to two months after receiving OPV.”
Glatt explained that in the US, health professionals prefer IPV so that children have immunity if exposed to polio without the potential to pass the virus to others.
A doctor said that the IPV used in the US is inactivated and therefore will not change or mutate. AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos
Dr. Jennifer L. Leiter, MD, an infectious disease specialist at NYU Langone in New York, told Fox Digital News that OPV is still being used because it is seen as an important tool in controlling polio around the world. because it is easy to administer, low-cost, and induces mucosal immunity.
The hospital epidemiologist was not familiar with the details of the Rockland County case, but said OPV can be transmitted to others.
Leiter said in an email to Fox Digital News, “Rarely (about 1 case per million), OPV can cause paralysis in immunocompromised children. For an extremely rare effect in immunocompromised children, the US stopped using OPV.’
Leiter cautioned that those who are immunocompromised should talk to their doctor about vaccinations. The infectious disease expert said that although OPV is not available in the U.S., some other vaccines such as the measles, mumps, rubella or varicella vaccine are live attenuated immunizations.
Leiter said immunocompromised individuals should discuss what precautions they should take in case they need to encounter a child or individual who has had some type of live vaccine.
Polio vaccination is important, Lighter stressed.
“Immunization against polio represents one of humanity’s greatest achievements,” she 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 has been nearly eradicated thanks to a vaccine developed in 1955.
Almost all children — 99 out of 100 — who receive all recommended doses of polio vaccine will be protected from the disease, according to the CDC.
On its website, the CDC said the U.S. has been polio-free since 1979, thanks to the widespread use of the polio vaccine. The CDC also said the best way to contain the disease is to keep the population immune to polio high through vaccination.
The unvaccinated should talk to their doctors
The New York State Department of Health and the Rockland County Department of Health have advised practitioners and health care providers to monitor for additional cases.
Those already vaccinated are considered to be at lower risk, officials said.
However, people who have not been vaccinated – including those who are pregnant, those who have not completed their previous series of polio vaccines, or members of the community who are concerned that they may have been exposed – should to consult their doctor about getting a vaccination.
Health officials said this week they are concerned there may be hesitation 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.
“The fact is, the urgency for safe and effective vaccines has always been here, and we need New Yorkers to protect themselves from completely preventable viruses like polio.”
Pop-up polio vaccination clinics have been set up this past week and next week.
Add Comment