Roger Harris/Science Photo Library | Scientific Photo Library | Getty Images The New York State Department of Health confirmed a case of polio on Thursday, the first known infection in the US in nearly a decade. A resident of Rockland County, a suburb of New York, has tested positive for polio, according to the state health department. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the infection. Health care providers should be on the lookout for additional polio cases, state health officials said. The chain of infection that led to the New York case is believed to have originated outside the U.S. No polio cases have originated in the U.S. since 1979, according to the CDC. The strain of polio the person caught, known as Sabin type 2 retrovirus, suggests the chain of infection started with someone who received the oral polio vaccine, according to the state health department. The oral polio vaccine contains a mild strain of the virus that can still replicate, meaning that people who receive it can spread the virus to others. The oral polio vaccine is no longer given in the US, suggesting the chain of transmission started overseas, according to New York health officials. The US uses an inactivated polio vaccine that is given as a shot in the leg or arm. This vaccine uses a strain of virus that does not replicate, so that people who receive it cannot spread the virus to others. The CDC recommends that all children receive the polio vaccine. New York state requires all children to receive the vaccine before starting school. Polio is highly contagious and often begins with flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, fever, headache, muscle aches, vomiting, and stiffness. Symptoms can take up to 30 days to develop, meaning people who haven’t gotten sick yet can spread the virus to others. In rare cases, polio can cause paralysis and death. The virus caused widespread fear in the 1940s before vaccines were available, with more than 35,000 people crippled by polio each year, according to the CDC. At the time, many parents were afraid to let their children play outside during the summer when transmission was at its peak. However, a successful national vaccination campaign from the 1950s to the 1960s dramatically reduced the number of infections. The US was free of polio until 1979. The United Kingdom declared a national emergency in late June after polio was found in several sewage samples in London. Sewage samples in the UK have tested positive for the strain of virus used in vaccines.
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