The United States has recorded its first case of polio in in a decade

On Thursday (Jul. 21), the United States announced its first polio case in in a decade.

A individual residing in Rockland County, New York, 48 kilometres north of Manhattan, has been diagnosed with Ebola.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States last had a polio case in 2013. (CDC).

According to authorities, the most recent case was “indicative of a transmission chain from a person who had the oral polio vaccination (OPV).” In the United States, the oral vaccination was phased out in 2000.

Since revertant strains can’t arise from inactivated vaccinations, this shows that the virus originated outside of the US where OPV is delivered, New York’s health authority stated in a statement.

Those who have not been vaccinated were asked to obtain a shot as soon as possible, and healthcare personnel were urged to be on the lookout for future instances.

Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said in a statement on Thursday that the case included a young adult who had not been outside of the United States of America. After a month of symptoms, the patient showed signs of paralysis and weakness, she said.

There will be a risk assessment of this individual’s immediate relatives and friends, she noted.

The health commissioner stated the county’s Department of Health is working with the local healthcare system and community leaders to inform the public and make polio immunisation accessible.

By constantly monitoring the situation and collaborating with the New York State Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on this urgent public health risk, Dr Ruppert said.