Outbreak of polio: Are immunizations still necessary? How does the illness get inside you? What you should know is as follows.

The first case of polio to be identified in the United States in 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 below.

What is polio? How does polio 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 permanent impairment.

Polio is a highly infectious virus that spreads from person to person and frequently resides in the intestines or throat of an infected person. Only people can get polio, which is transmitted through the excrement of an infected person or droplets from their cough or sneeze.

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 organization, 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 vaccine as children, the majority of people do not require it. However, in certain circumstances, the CDC advises at-risk people to think about getting immunized:

If you operate in a lab and handle samples that contain the poliovirus while visiting a foreign nation where there is a high risk of polio transmission

You work in healthcare and care for people who may have polio, or you have been in close contact with someone who has the poliovirus.