By Katia Hetter, CNN

(CNN) — Although polio has been eliminated as an endemic disease in the United States, that isn’t true for other parts of the world.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Level 2 travel notice on March 9 warning that poliovirus continues to circulate in multiple parts of the world and advising travelers to take enhanced precautions. The agency recommended that travelers to affected countries ensure they are fully vaccinated against polio before departure.

Despite its eradication in the United States, health officials say international travel can still pose a risk when the virus is circulating elsewhere. Because poliovirus spreads easily and can move across borders through infected travelers, maintaining high vaccination coverage remains essential.

What exactly is polio, and how does it spread? If the United States no longer has ongoing transmission, why are travel alerts still necessary? Which parts of the world are seeing poliovirus circulation now? Should travelers check their vaccination status before international trips? If someone is unsure whether they are fully protected, what should they do next?

I spoke with CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen to find out. Wen is an emergency physician and adjunct associate professor at the George Washington University. She previously served as Baltimore’s health commissioner.

CNN: What is polio, and how is the virus transmitted?

Dr. Leana Wen: Polio, short for poliomyelitis, is a highly contagious viral disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus primarily spreads through what’s known as the fecal-oral route. That means microscopic particles from an infected person’s stool can contaminate surfaces, food or water and then enter another person’s body through the mouth. It also can spread through respiratory droplets when people are in close contact.

One challenge with polio is that people can spread the virus without realizing they are infected. Many individuals have few or no symptoms but can still transmit the virus to others.

CNN: What symptoms does polio cause, and how often does it lead to paralysis?

Wen: Most people infected with poliovirus do not develop noticeable symptoms. Roughly 3 out of 4 infections are asymptomatic, according to the CDC.

When symptoms do occur, they are often mild and can resemble other viral illnesses. People may experience fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, sore throat and muscle aches. These symptoms usually resolve within a few days.

In a smaller percentage of cases, the virus affects the nervous system. Paralytic polio occurs when the virus damages motor neurons that control muscles. This can lead to weakness or paralysis, most often affecting the legs. One in 200 infections lead to paralysis, according to the World Health Organization. Among those people paralyzed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles stop functioning.

CNN: If the United States eliminated polio years ago, why are travelers still being warned about it now?

Wen: The United States eliminated continuous transmission of polio in Read more

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By Sean Lyngaas, CNN

(CNN) — A cyberattack claimed by pro-Iran hackers has caused a “global network disruption” to a major US medical device maker, according to a company statement.

Michigan-based Stryker “is experiencing a global network disruption to our Microsoft environment as a result of a cyberattack,” the company said in a statement to CNN. “We have no indication of ransomware or malware and believe the incident is contained. Our teams are working rapidly to understand the impact of the attack on our systems. Stryker has business continuity measures in place to continue to support our customers and partners.”

Stryker makes a range of hospital equipment, from defibrillators to ambulance cots. The company’s computers in Ireland were also hit by the cyberattack, according to local media reports. Stryker say it serves more than 150 million patients through its health equipment and services.

It was unclear what immediate impacts, if any, the hack had on Stryker’s provision of medical equipment to US hospitals. Cybersecurity executives across the health sector told CNN on Wednesday they were on alert for any impacts.

The cyberattack appears to be one of the first notable pro-Iranian hacks against US infrastructure since the US and Israel began bombing Iran last month. US intelligence officials have warned about the possibility of Tehran-linked hackers retaliating for the US and Israeli bombing of Iran that began last month.

In a social media post on Wednesday, the hacking group that claimed responsibility said the Stryker hack was retaliation for a missile strike on an elementary school in Iran, which Iranian state media has claimed killed at least 168 children. The Pentagon is investigating that incident.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on the pro-Iran hack. Stryker’s shares fell more than 3% following that report.

Iran-linked hackers had been largely quiet in terms of attacks on US organizations since the war began last month.

Email security firm Proofpoint said Wednesday that its tracking of known Iranian groups had turned up only one hacking campaign — an attempt to hack a US think tank employee — since the war began.

“Too much of cybersecurity is focused on lower consequence breaches from financially motivated enemies, while we’re increasing our exposures to nation states and other enemies who seek to disrupt and destroy,” Joshua Corman, a cybersecurity expert who has focused on the health sector for years, told CNN. “China, Iran, Russia, etc. all have the means, motive, and opportunity to deal us devastating disruptions.”

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Por Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Casi el 40 % de las frutas y verduras no orgánicas cultivadas en California contienen rastros de pesticidas que son también PFAS, o “sustancias químicas eternas”, según una nueva investigación.

California suministra casi la mitad de las verduras y más de tres cuartas partes de las frutas y frutos secos que se consumen en Estados Unidos.

Las sustancias perfluoroalquílicas y polifluoroalquílicas, o PFAS, reciben el nombre de “sustancias químicas eternas” debido a que sus fuertes enlaces moleculares de carbono y flúor pueden tardar años, décadas —e incluso siglos— en descomponerse por completo en el medio ambiente. Se estima que en la actualidad existen cerca de 15.000 tipos de sustancias químicas fluoradas, o PFAS.

“El pesticida a base de PFAS es el ingrediente activo de estos productos porque resulta eficaz para eliminar organismos; y esa es precisamente la razón por la cual representa una preocupación tan grande para la salud pública y para el medio ambiente en general”, afirmó Bernadette Del Chiaro, vicepresidenta sénior de operaciones en California del Environmental Working Group (EWG), una organización de defensa de la salud que analizó ​​el informe publicado este miércoles.

“Lamentablemente, no existe forma de contener el daño”, señaló Del Chiaro. “No podemos limitarnos a dañar las esporas de moho o los insectos presentes en un melocotón sin dañar, potencialmente, al niño pequeño que se come ese melocotón. El hecho de que estemos rociando intencionadamente sustancias químicas eternas sobre los productos agrícolas que compramos en el supermercado es algo verdaderamente revelador”.

Fabricados desde la década de 1940 para dotar a los productos de propiedades antiadherentes, resistentes a las manchas y repelentes al agua, los PFAS históricos se han vinculado con el cáncer, la obesidad, las enfermedades tiroideas, el colesterol alto, la disminución de la fertilidad, el daño hepático, la alteración hormonal y los daños al sistema inmunológico, según la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de Estados Unidos (EPA). Varias de estas sustancias químicas pueden causar daños a niveles de una milmillonésima de gramo.

Los pesticidas más recientes a base de PFAS también muestran efectos preocupantes en las células humanas y en los sistemas reproductivos y nerviosos de los animales, si bien los niveles de exposición resultan difíciles de determinar. Por ejemplo, el fludioxonil —que se añade a los productos agrícolas tras la cosecha para prevenir la aparición de moho y hongos— ha provocado la muerte de células humanas y daños en el ADN en pruebas de laboratorio. “Dado que no va a llover para arrastrar ese pesticida PFAS, la situación se vuelve un tanto preocupante”, afirmó Nathan Donley, director de ciencias de la salud ambiental del Centro para la Diversidad Biológica, una organización sin fines de lucro dedicada a la defensa y preservación de especies en peligro de extinción, con sede en Tucson, Arizona.

“Estos son los alimentos que realmente nos aportan nutrientes y con los que alimentamos a nuestros hijos; por lo tanto, este es el último lugar donde uno desearía encontrar este tipo de contaminación”, señaló Donley, quien no participó en el análisis realizado por el EWG. “Y creo que la mayoría de la gente no tiene ni la menor idea de que esto está ocurriendo”.

El informe del EWG reveló que los niveles más elevados de fludioxonil se hallaron en los limones, superando 1 parte por millón, seguidos por los duraznos, las nectarinas, las peras, las ciruelas, los arándanos y los albaricoques (damascos). Además, se detectó fludioxonil en el 90 % de las muestras analizadas de nectarinas, duraznos y ciruelas.

“La Autoridad Europea de Seguridad Alimentaria también considera que el fludioxonil es una sustancia química disruptora endocrina que ha causado daños al sistema reproductivo en animales”, comentó Varun Subramaniam, coautor del inf