The United States recorded its first case of polio in nearly a decade on Thursday, according to New York state health officials. A resident of Rockland County, 30 miles (48 km) north of Manhattan, has in fact tested positive for the disease, his case indicating “a chain of transmission from an individual who received the oral polio vaccine (OPV)”, according to a statement. .
This vaccine has not been used in the United States since 2000, which suggests that the origin of the virus could come “from a place outside the United States where OPV is administered,” the new yorkers health officials detailed.
They asked doctors to monitor possible new cases and urged county residents who are not vaccinated to do so. The last known case of polio in the United States was in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Virtually eradicated worldwide
Poliomyelitis, a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects children under 5 years of age, has been virtually eradicated worldwide. Cases have decreased by 99% since 1988, when polio was still endemic in 125 countries and 350,000 cases were recorded.
Contaminations decreased dramatically in the late 1950s and early 1960s in the United States, with the development of a vaccine. The last natural infection that has occurred in the territory dates back to 1979.
The oral polio vaccine can cause contamination in other people but not in the vaccinated person. This type of polio can cause serious illness and paralysis in people who are not vaccinated.
The World Health Organization warned last month that a type of vaccine-derived poliovirus had been detected in sewage samples from London.
Source: BFM TV
