Business

‘Have I been vaccinated against polio?’ and other questions, answered


Here’s what you should know

Follow CDCno cases of polio have originated in the US since 1979. But cases were brought into the country by travelers and the last known case of polio in the US was discovered in two thousand and thirteen.

Jill Foster, a pediatric infectious disease physician at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, likens the impact of polio on the body to the effect of broken wires in your basement electrical box.

After polio moves through the ‘wiring,’ which she uses as a metaphor for nerves, ‘it damages the wiring, and so you don’t get any signal. any nerve signals to your muscles and your muscles stop working,” says Foster.

Polio is spread through contact with the stool of an infected person or droplets from an infected person’s sneeze or cough, which is less common, according to the CDC. CDC. Other ways you can get sick include:

  • Pick up small pieces of infected person’s feces from your hands and touch your mouth
  • Putting objects contaminated with the patient’s faeces into the mouth

The serious effects of polio include meningitis, infection of the coating of the spinal cord and/or brain, and paralysis, inability to move certain parts of the body, the firm speak. And unfortunately, there is no cure for the virus and only treatment of the symptoms.

According to the New York State Department of Health, the case confirmed last month in Rockland County, New York occurred in an unvaccinated adult who developed severe symptoms, including paralysis and right hospitalize.

But what does all of this mean for you? According to Foster, it depends on your vaccination status.

Here are her answers to some of the most common questions people are searching online about polio:

Your question about polio, answered by the doctor

How worried should I be about polio right now? Am I at risk?

The good news is that if you’re vaccinated against polio, you have no reason to worry unless you’re immunocompromised, says Foster.

She recommends that people who are immunocompromised consult their doctor, who may then recommend testing their antibody levels. The results will help decide if they should get a polio booster shot.

Practicing good hand hygiene like washing your hands before eating is also a great way to protect yourself.

“The main route of polio transmission is fecal-oral, so all the things we’ve done since the pandemic started, I think is a really good thing,” Foster said. “And that would also protect against polio.”

If you’re not fully immunized against polio, you’re at greatest risk of contracting the disease, she notes. This also includes children under one year of age, especially infants under 6 months; Foster said that while they may have some protection from the original vaccine, they are not yet fully immunized against polio.

The CDC recommends that children get four doses of polio vaccine, with one dose at the following ages: two months, four months, six months to 18 months, and four to six years of age.

“I would be concerned if I had an infant living in New York who only got one or two shots and then was around people who didn’t wash their hands and weren’t vaccinated,” Foster said.

Have I been vaccinated against polio? Can I get a new vaccine as a precaution?

If your childhood immunization records are available to you, then you should search them for “IPV,” which stands for inactivated polio vaccine. With the four doses of IPV listed on your profile, you have excellent protection against polio.

“If they have IPV on the vaccine record they’re good,” says Foster, “Some people will look for words that actually say ‘polio’ and it won’t say it. “

Depending on where you were born or where you lived when you received the vaccine, “OPV” may be listed on your immunization record as oral polio vaccine. Some countries use oral polio vaccine, according to CDC.

If you can’t access your childhood vaccination records and want to get the polio vaccine for extra protection, Foster says there isn’t any harm in doing so.

I was vaccinated as a child, but can I get a booster shot?

At this point, polio boosters are not recommended for people who had their initial vaccinations as children, Foster said. Officials believe immunity lasts a long time, she added.

Given the small number of cases, Foster did not foresee that adjuvant drugs for polio would be recommended unless assistance was available. However, this could change depending on how widespread polio is in the US, she noted.

“I think everyone at the CDC is talking about it,” said Foster.

Register now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

Do not miss:



Source link

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button