How worried should we be about the resurgence of polio in the U.S.? It’s a question a lot of health officials are taking seriously. After the polio virus was found in the wastewater in two New York counties this summer and a New York man was diagnosed with paralytic polio, health experts believe there may be hundreds of people in the area who have undiagnosed cases.
Dr. Shephali Wulff, SSM Health System Medical Director for Infectious Diseases, says she’s hopeful there will not be an explosion of cases of the virus.
“If the country does see an uptick in cases, it may be in pockets, but it’s not likely to sweep the nation in the way COVID-19 did,” said Dr. Wulff.
However, she notes the COVID pandemic has taught people to be humbled by viruses and urges everyone to make sure they’ve been vaccinated against polio.
“In this country, we’ve had a long history of promoting childhood vaccination. Most school districts do require it, and so my hope is that most of our communities are pretty well protected,” she said.
We thought polio was no longer a threat to people in the United States, so why are we seeing cases emerge after a decade? Wulff says there are a number of possible explanations, including people moving to the U.S. from other countries where polio is still a problem and virus spread within communities where childhood vaccination efforts are not as common.
“It’s tricky to say how concerned people should be about polio,” said Wulff. “Because most cases can go completely undetected, people can have it and not even know it. The detection of polio in the wastewater in two New York counties as well as one New Yorker with paralytic polio means it is indeed spreading. We just don’t know to what extent.”
One in four cases involves fever and flu-like illness, while one in 100 cases presents as meningitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in 200 to one in 2,000 cases presents with paralysis, depending on the virus type.
“The U.S. has a very large supply of polio vaccine, and it’s 99% effective,” says Dr. Wulff. “A booster is available, but it’s typically recommended for people who might be traveling to places where polio is still prevalent as well as health care and lab workers.”
It’s important to be vaccinated against polio. Check with your doctor if you are unsure whether you’ve been immunized.
