Outbreak of polio: Are immunizations still necessary? How does the illness get inside you? What You Need To Know

Polio Virus

The first case of polio to be identified in the United States in a decade has been found in New York.

The information you need to know about polio and how to avoid contracting the illness is provided here.

Describe polio. How does polio become spread?

The polio virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), can harm a person's spinal cord and cause paralysis, which can result in death or lifelong impairment.

Polio is a highly infectious virus that spreads from person to person and frequently resides in the intestines or throat of an infected individual.

Only people may contract polio, which is spread by infected individuals' excrement or droplets from their coughs or sneezes.

How can I safeguard myself from polio? In the United States, are polio immunizations still required?

According to the CDC, polio vaccinations should begin as early as possible, starting with neonates. According to the organisation, children should begin receiving four vaccinations at the ages of 2 months, 4 months, 6 through 18 months, and 4 through 6 years old.

Because they received the polio vaccination as children, the majority of people do not require it. However, in some circumstances, the CDC advises at-risk people to think about being immunised:

• If you are travelling to a foreign country with a high risk of polio transmission
• You work in a laboratory and are handling specimens that contain the poliovirus
• You are a healthcare worker treating patients who might have polio, or you have close contact with someone who was infected with the poliovirus

The inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) is the only type of polio vaccine that is administered in the U.S.

What polio vaccine requirements exist in New Jersey for children?

According to the NJ Department of Health, children in New Jersey who are 18 months or younger who intend to enrol in a childcare programme or preschool must have had a minimum of three doses of the polio vaccine.

Children must receive three to four polio vaccination shots before entering kindergarten or first grade. Children must get a minimum of three doses for grades two and up.

Students who are 18 years of age or older, however, are excused from this requirement.