A case of polio has been reported in New York, Rockland County officials said Thursday. The viral disease, which can cause neurological symptoms, paralysis or death, was declared eliminated in the U. S. in 1979. Although routine spread has been halted for decades, occasionally travelers with polio have brought infections into the U. S. In 2013, a case occurred in a 7-month-old who had recently moved to the U. S. from India. The patient in the new case, a young adult who did not recently travel outside the country, was hospitalized but is no longer, officials confirmed. Officials said the person had presented with paralysis but wouldn’t say if the patient was still dealing with that side effect. The person had not been vaccinated against polio, health officials said. The person is no longer able to transmit the virus, officials said. But investigators are looking into how the infection occurred and whether other people may have been exposed to the virus. POLIO:  Virus detected in London sewage samples, health officials sayAccording to the state Department of Health, sequencing on this case showed it was revertant polio Sabin type 2 virus. This points to a transmission chain from an individual who received an older form of oral polio vaccine that hasn't been used in the U. S. in over two decades. The new case may stem from someone who got such a vaccine outside the U. S. and spread the vaccine-derived strain of the virus, officials said. State Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick said the case appeared to have come from outside the U. S. In the 2013 case, the child also had the type of polio found in the live form of vaccine used in other countries. There are two types of polio vaccines. Since 2000, only inactivated vaccines are given in the U. S., health officials said, so there is no risk of getting polio from the shot. But some countries where polio has been more of a recent threat use a weakened live virus that is given to children as drops in the mouth. In rare instances, the weakened virus can mutate into a form capable of sparking new outbreaks. Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert encouraged residents who are unvaccinated or have not completed the polio vaccination series to get vaccinated as soon as possible."Many of you may be too young to remember polio, but when I was growing up this disease struck fear in families, including my own. The fact that it is still around decades after the vaccine was created shows you just how relentless it is," Day said. "Do the right thing for your child and the greater good of your community and have your child vaccinated now."The county has scheduled a polio vaccination clinic for July 22. Polio usually is transmitted by mouth, usually from hands contaminated with the fecal matter of an infected person. It can also be transmitted through saliva by oral-to-oral or respiratory contact.


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