1st polio found in New York after a decade; hundreds could be infected
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New York state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett warns that the case of polio is the ‘tip of the iceberg’ as hundreds of others could be infected, calling upon the unvaccinated to receive their shots asap.
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A Polio virus particle illustrated in 2014 by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Health officials in New York issued Thursday an urgent call for unvaccinated children and adults to get their shots against polio, citing new evidence of potential “community spread” of the dangerous virus.
This comes after the polio virus was found in seven different wastewater samples in two adjacent counties north of New York City, as per the officials.
So far, an unvaccinated adult in Rockland County who suffered paralysis has tested positive for the virus, but based on previous polio outbreaks, “New Yorkers should know that for every one case of paralytic polio observed, there may be hundreds of other people infected,” Dr. Mary T. Bassett, New York's health commissioner said in a statement.
“Coupled with the latest wastewater findings, the Department is treating the single case of polio as just the tip of the iceberg of much greater potential spread,” she said. “As we learn more, what we do know is clear: the danger of polio is present in New York today. We must meet this moment by ensuring that adults, including pregnant people, and young children by 2 months of age are up to date with their immunization — the safe protection against this debilitating virus that every New Yorker needs.”
The polio patient is the first individual known to be infected in the US in almost a decade. Wastewater samples taken in the past two months in Orange County were found to contain the virus.
The United States had not seen any polio cases since 1979, more than two decades after the availability of vaccines.
All schools in New York require polio vaccines among their students, but enforcing vaccination rules in some areas can be neglected.
“It is concerning that polio, a disease that has been largely eradicated through vaccination, is now circulating in our community, especially given the low rates of vaccination for this debilitating disease in certain areas of our County,” said Orange County Health Commissioner Irina Gelman. “I urge all unvaccinated Orange County residents to get vaccinated as soon as medically feasible.”
The majority of polio-infected patients are asymptomatic, but this does not mean they can not shed the virus and give it to others for days or weeks. The minority of those infected suffer paralysis, and the disease is fatal for between 5 to 10 percent among those paralyzed.
