In suburban New York, a young man fell ill with polio

A case of poliomyelitis was identified and confirmed in suburban New York, USA. This was the first case of the disease in the country in almost 10 years. This was announced by the New York State Department of Health, writes Spectrum News .

The man was reportedly not vaccinated.

As told in the department, the first symptoms of the young man appeared a month ago. During this time, the American was paralyzed.

Analyzes indicated that the Rockland County case of the virus may have originated outside the United States, the department said in a statement.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which confirmed the case, said there had been no cases of polio in the United States since 1979. At the same time, in 2013, a case was documented in the United States caused by a live strain used in vaccination.

Polio was once one of the most dangerous diseases in the US. At the same time, its annual outbreaks led to thousands of cases of paralysis, especially many victims were among children. Mass vaccination began in the country in the mid-1950s.

There are currently two types of polio vaccines in use worldwide. In epidemically prosperous countries like the United States, this is an inactivated polio vaccine. In countries where polio is still a serious threat, live oral polio vaccine is given to children by mouth drops. In rare cases, a weakened virus used in a live vaccine can mutate into a form that can cause new outbreaks.

Polio is transmitted from person to person or through contaminated water. The disease has remained in only two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan, but periodically outbreaks occur in some countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Polio causes muscle weakness and paralysis, and in the most serious cases, permanent disability and death. The first symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and pain in the extremities.