Has polio returned to US after 35 years?

Has polio returned to US after 35 years?

Salk Institute in La Jolla, California 

Kounteya Sinha,TNN | Feb 24, 2014, 08.45 PM IST 

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Has-polio-returned-to-US-after-35-years/articleshow/30955479.cms

LONDON: In what could be the biggest blow in recent years to the global fight against polio, fears have now emerged that the crippling disease has returned to America after 35 years.

Researchers have identified a polio-like syndrome in a cluster of children from California over a one-year period. A detailed analysis of five cases showed enterovirus-68 — which is related to poliovirus — could be to blame.

Interestingly, all the children had been vaccinated against polio. Symptoms have ranged from restricted movement in one limb to severe weakness in both legs and arms.

The cases have been spread over a 100-mile diameter (160km) so the research team do not think the virus represents a single cluster or outbreak.

Polio is a highly contagious disease and has been wiped out from the developed world decades ago. In case the virus returns to this region, it will throw back all progress made to eradicate the disease by half a century. In the late 1940s to the early 1950s, polio crippled an average of more than 35,000 people in the United States each year.

However the United States has been polio-free since 1979.

In 1994, the entire WHO Region of the Americas was certified polio-free. In a highly worrying development, US doctors have warned of an emerging polio-like disease in California where up to 20 people have been infected.

A meeting of the American Academy of Neurology has been told today that some patients had developed paralysis in all four limbs, which had not improved with treatment.

Polio was recently eradicated from India leaving it endemic only in three countries — Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

"Although poliovirus has been eradicated from most of the globe, other viruses can also injure the spine, leading to a polio-like syndrome," said case report author Keith Van Haren, with Stanford University and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

"In the past decade, newly identified strains of enterovirus have been linked to polio-like outbreaks among children in Asia and Australia. These five new cases highlight the possibility of an emerging infectious polio-like syndrome in California".

Van Haren said he and his colleagues noticed several of these cases at their medical centers and decided to look for similar cases in California. They reviewed all polio-like cases among children who had samples referred to California's Neurologic and Surveillance Testing program from August 2012 to July 2013.

Cases were included in the analysis if the children had paralysis affecting one or more limbs with abnormal MRI scans of the spinal cord that explained the paralysis. They did not include children who met criteria for Guillain-Barre syndrome and botulism, which can cause similar symptoms.

The five children experienced paralysis of one or more arms or legs that came on suddenly and reached the height of its severity within two days of onset. Three of the children had a respiratory illness before the symptoms began. All of the children had been previously vaccinated against poliovirus.

The children were treated but their symptoms did not improve and they still had poor limb function after six months. Two children tested positive for enterovirus-68, a rare virus previously associated with polio-like symptoms. No cause was identified in the remaining three children.

"Our findings have important implications for disease surveillance, testing and treatment," said Van Haren. "We would like to stress that this syndrome appears to be very, very rare. Any time a parent sees symptoms of paralysis in a child, the child should be seen by a doctor right away".

CDC Atlanta says it is crucial to maintain the success rate of US vaccination efforts since the disease still exists in some parts of the world. People most at risk are those who never had polio vaccine, those who never received all the recommended vaccine doses, and those traveling to polio endemic countries.

Polio

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salk_Institute

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is an independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in La Jolla, California.[1] It was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick.

Note: Jonas Salk founded the Salk Institute, and his brother was Lee Salk.

Lee Salk was Jonas Salk’s brother, and married to Mary Jane Salk.

Mary Jane Salk was married to Lee Salk, dated Michael R. Bloomberg, a director at the Doe Fund, and is a trustee at the Salk Institute.

Patrick A. Bradford was a director at the Doe Fund, and is a director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, the Robin Hood Foundation, and the Harlem Children's Zone.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and a benefactor at the Harlem Children's Zone.

Cecily M. Carson was a director at the Doe Fund, and is a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation.

Michael R. Bloomberg was a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation, a benefactor at the Harlem Children's Zone, dated Mary Jane Salk, the New York (NY) mayor, a donor for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and is the founder for the Bloomberg Family Foundation.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Bloomberg Philanthropies is an umbrella organization for the Bloomberg Family Foundation, was a funder for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Bloomberg Family Foundation was a funder for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, , and the CDC Foundation.

CDC Foundation is a foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Jeffrey P. Koplan was a director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and is a board member for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation is a funder for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and was a funder for the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.

American Society for Muslim Advancement is a sponsor for the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.

Daisy Khan is an executive director for the American Society for Muslim Advancement, married to Feisal Abdul Rauf, a developer for the Park51, and was a director at the White House Project.

Park51

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park51

Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) is a planned 13-story Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan. The majority of the center will be open to the general public and its proponents have said the center will promote interfaith dialogue. Plans for the center include a Muslim prayer space which, due to its location two blocks from the World Trade Center site,[6][7] has controversially[8][9] been referred to as the "Ground Zero mosque", though numerous commentators argued that it was neither a mosque nor at Ground Zero.

Feisal Abdul Rauf is married to Daisy Khan, a co-founder for the American Society for Muslim Advancement, the founder & chairman for the Cordoba Initiative, and a developer for Park51.

Cordoba Initiative is a sponsor for the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.

Gara LaMarche was a director at the White House Project, an associate director at the Human Rights Watch, the VP & director of U.S. programs for the Open Society Foundations, is a director at the Roosevelt Institute, and a director at ProPublica.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, and the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was a benefactor at the Human Rights Watch, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Roosevelt Institute, ProPublica, the Aspen Institute (think tank), the Committee for Economic Development, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and the Robin Hood Foundation.

Beth A. Brooke was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and a director at the White House Project.

Patrick A. Bradford is a director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and was a director at the Doe Fund.

Cecily M. Carson is a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation, and was a director at the Doe Fund.

Mary Jane Salk was a director at the Doe Fund, married to Lee Salk, dated Michael R. Bloomberg, and is a trustee at the Salk Institute.

Lee Salk was married to Mary Jane Salk, and Jonas Salk’s brother.

Jonas Salk was Lee Salk’s brother, and founded the Salk Institute.