Melrose polio survivor urges everyone to get vaccinated after potential spread in New York
MELROSE – A local polio survivor is urging everyone to get vaccinated after the nation detected its first case of the virus in nearly a decade last month.
"It was painful and I couldn't do a lot of things," said Patricia Hughes. The Melrose resident was just five years old when she was diagnosed with polio in 1955. The virus, which can cause paralysis, weakened her muscles – making it difficult to walk.
"I had real problems with my feet. When I walked -- my toes would go in," explained Hughes. "I tripped over my two feet."
The first case of polio in the U.S. since 2013 was detected in New York state last month. New York state health officials said the patient was a previously healthy young adult who was unvaccinated. They said it appeared the person had a vaccine-derived strain of the virus, perhaps from someone who got a live vaccine — something that is available in other countries, but not the U.S. — and spread it.
According to CDC, there hasn't been a case of polio from the wild poliovirus since 1979, thanks to the vaccine.
Wastewater samples in New York indicate the virus could be spreading.
"The existence of that one case may represent the existence of many cases that are flying under the radar," Tufts Medical Center epidemiologist Dr. Shira Doron told WBZ-TV.
Polio is highly contagious and typically spreads by fecal contamination from an infected person or through droplets from a sneeze or cough.
"People who are fully vaccinated, who've accepted the vaccines that are offered by their pediatrician whether they're a child or an adult, don't have to worry about polio at this time," Dr. Doron said.
It's the unvaccinated, the local epidemiologist explained, who will be impacted by this latest resurgence.
"I feel frustrated because it's a disease that can be easily dealt with if you just get the vaccine," Hughes said. "It's really difficult for me to think of children getting it. It's a terrible experience that will affect you for the rest of your life."