Polio Viral Threat

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https://www.the-sun.com/health/5831003/p...-new-york/

VIRAL THREAT
Polio outbreak fears after case detected in New York’s Rockland County despite US being ‘free’ of deadly virus for 40yr
FEARS are mounting over a potential polio outbreak following a confirmed case in New York State - despite the US being declared "free" of the deadly virus four decades ago.
The case was detected in a patient in Rockland County, the New York State Department of Health announced on Thursday.

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A patient in New York State has tested positive for PolioCredit: Getty Images - Getty
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the US has been polio-free for more than 40 years, without an originated case since 1979.
However, the CDC reports that the virus can be brought over by a traveler from a different country - as was the case in 1993, the last time polio was detected in the US.
According to the NYSDOH, the latest case may have originated outside the country, as the patient received the oral polio vaccine, which is not authorized or administered in the US.
Officials did not immediately offer details on who the Rockland County resident was or their current condition.

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"The fact that it [polio] is still around decades after the vaccine was created shows you just how relentless it is," County Executive Ed Day said.
OUTBREAK FEARS
The US is among the more than 100 countries that do not meet the recommended vaccine coverage thresholds to control a potential outbreak of polio.
According to data from the CDC, about 93 percent of American children are vaccinated against polio by their second birthday, falling short of the World Health Organization's threshold of 95 percent.
During the early 1950s, the disabling and life-threatening disease was once one of the most feared viruses in the US.

The virus can affect the neurologic system, cause muscle weakness and, in some instances, result in paralysis or death.
Cases typically occur when the virus enters the body through the mouth, usually from hands contaminated with the fecal matter of an infected person.
Respiratory and oral transmission through saliva may also account for some cases.
Symptoms, which can take up to 30 days to appear, can be mild and flu-like, including fatigue, fever, headache, stiffness, muscle pain and vomiting.

Before the vaccines were available in the mid-50s, polio outbreaks caused more than 15,000 cases of paralysis each year.
The confirmed Polio case is just the latest virus to reemerge in the US, as the nation is in the midst of a monkeypox outbreak.

The latest update by the CDC on Friday brings the nation's total cases to 2,323, just months after the first US case was detected in May.

New York has been struck the hardest with 581 confirmed cases, followed by California with 356 and Illinois and Florida with 208.