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Show 100,000 Utah children may need polio protection A United States Immunization Immuniza-tion Survey shows that more than 100,000 Utah children may be inadequately immunized immu-nized against polio, a Utah Department of Social Services official said. 1! According to Dr. Taira Fukushima, Deputy director of Health for the Disease Control Branch, the presences of so many unprotected children child-ren increases the likelihood of outbreaks of polio in Utah. In 1977, 20 cases of polio were reported in the U.S. Of these cases, 17 resulted in paralysis. No cases of polio were reported in Utah. Fukushima noted that polio may be caused by three types of viruses. All can cause paralysis. "However, paralysis par-alysis does not occur as frequently fre-quently as most people believe. be-lieve. Much more common is a polio in its nonparalytic form," he stressed. A live virus vaccine that is given by mouth is available for protection against polio. The vaccine is routinely given to infants and children up to age 18 and is highly effective, provided the initial series and ! recommended boosters are received. Fukushima recommended that infants receive two doses of oral vaccine in the first year of life, preferably at 2 and 4 months of age. Boosters are given at age 18-months and between 4-6 years, preferably prior to day care or school entry. However, polio immunizations immu-nizations can begin at any time up to age 18. Adults are not routinely immunized against polio in the United States. He noted that a "killed form of polio vaccine now is available avail-able for those children who cannot receive the live virus polio vaccine. |
