Unvaccinated people in U.S. remain at risk for paralytic poliomyelitis: CDC

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Unvaccinated people in the United States remain at risk for paralytic poliomyelitis if they are exposed to either wild or vaccine-derived poliovirus, according to a new report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday.

In June 2022, poliovirus was confirmed in an unvaccinated immunocompetent adult resident of New York hospitalized with flaccid lower limb weakness, according to the CDC.

The patient initially experienced fever, neck stiffness, gastrointestinal symptoms, and limb weakness. The patient was hospitalized with possible acute flaccid myelitis, according to the report.

Vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was isolated from the patient and identified from wastewater samples in two neighboring New York counties, according to the CDC.

It was the second identification of community transmission of poliovirus in the United States since 1979, according to the CDC.

The occurrence of this case, combined with the identification of poliovirus in wastewater in neighboring Orange County, underscores the importance of maintaining high vaccination coverage to prevent paralytic polio in persons of all ages, said the CDC.