First Polio Case in U.S. in Nearly a Decade Detected in New York Suburb
New York health officials on Thursday alerted the public that a case of polio has been confirmed in an unvaccinated resident of Rockland County.State and county authorities are advising medical practitioners and healthcare providers to be on the lookout for additional cases.Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a potentially crippling and even deadly infectious disease caused by a virus that spreads from person to person, invading the brain and spinal cord, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One in 200 cases leads to irreversible paralysis.The polio vaccine, however, is highly effective at stopping polio, and the shot continues to be included in the CDC’s standard child immunization schedule. Because of a successful vaccination program in the United States in the 20th century, the country has been considered polio-free since 1979. Occasionally,…