Empire State health chief warns ‘Hundreds’ of New Yorkers may already be infected with polio

New York officials are warning that hundreds of Empire State residents may have already been infected with the devastating polio virus after it was discovered in the sewers of a second county in the state.

Government surveillance discovered the presence of the polio virus in at least two different areas of Orange County, New York, about an hour’s drive from New York City in June and July. It came weeks after authorities announced a confirmed case of polio in Rockland County, just northwest of the Big Apple’s Bronx county. The virus was also found in Rockland’s sewers last month.

Since in most cases polio is asymptomatic, detecting one symptomatic case means that there are likely to be hundreds of other cases that will never be detected. The discovery of the virus in wastewater samples from multiple counties confirms fears that the virus had spread in the state long before the Rockland case was discovered.

Authorities are urging the population to get vaccinated to prevent the re-emergence of the devastating virus. Orange and Rockland are among the counties with the lowest vaccination rates against the virus, at 59 percent and 60 percent, respectively. A previously vaccinated person is not at risk.

Rockland County (pictured) recorded a case of polio in an unvaccinated man last month

“Based on past polio outbreaks, New Yorkers should know that for every observed case of paralyzed polio, hundreds more could be infected,” said Dr. Mary Bassett, state health commissioner.

Dr. New York health commissioner Mary Bassett (pictured) warns that there may be hundreds of undetected cases of polio in the state.

“With the latest findings on wastewater, the Department considers a single case of polio as just the tip of the iceberg of a much wider potential spread.

“As we learn more, what we know becomes clear: There is a danger of polio in New York today. We should welcome this moment by making sure that adults and children under 2 months old, including pregnant women, are aware of their vaccinations,” she said.

New York State officials launched polio surveillance activities in response to the lawsuit, which was confirmed on July 21.

The case was confirmed in an Orthodox Jewish man in his twenties. He was not vaccinated and contracted the vaccine-derived version of the virus.

Vaccine-derived polio can occur when a person receives a live virus vaccine, an oral immunization that can pass the virus to others through fecal contamination.

This vaccine is no longer used in America, meaning it was passed on by someone who probably took it abroad and eventually returned to this man from New York.

He suffered a stroke due to the infection and is now recovering at home after a hospital stay. Earlier this week, it was reported that she still had difficulty walking.

Given the lack of international travel during the standard infection period, it is likely that he contracted the virus in the United States. This alerted the authorities to begin surveillance.

Sewage sampling detected polio in Rockland County in June. It was also detected in Orange County in June and July.

“Given how quickly polio can spread, now is the time for every adult, parent and guardian to vaccinate themselves and their children as soon as possible,” Basset said. Said.

Polio is a potentially debilitating and life-threatening disease that can spread to the spinal cord and cause paralysis and even death in severe cases.

It is highly contagious and spreads after someone touches a surface contaminated with the feces of an infected person and then the mouth.

About one in four people who get the virus develop flu-like symptoms, such as sore throat, fever, fatigue and stomachache.

One in every 25 people — when the spinal cord is infected — develops meningitis followed by paralysis. One in ten of them die from infection.

It was once the most feared disease in the United States and caused panic in the 1940s.

Parents were afraid to let their children play outside, especially in the summer when the virus seems more prevalent and public health officials will quarantine homes or even entire cities when it is noticed.

It caused more than 15,000 strokes and hundreds of deaths annually.

But in the mid-1950s, the country began spreading polio vaccines to prevent the disease.

In 1979, the United States declared the virus to be eradicated. Since then, no contamination on US soil is known.

The vaccine has also been made available around the world and has only repulsed the virus in a few countries.

It is now only known to roam in Pakistan and Afghanistan. WHO warns it will continue to be a threat to the world as long as it continues to spread.

But in recent years, vaccine coverage in the United States has slowed as the virus has pulled from national memory.

Recent figures show that about 92.6 percent of Americans were vaccinated against polio by their second birthday.

This is below the 95% threshold required by WHO to stop an outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all children get the polio vaccine.

The first is given at two months of age, the second at four months, the third at six to 18 months, and the last dose is given as four injections into the leg or arm, with the last dose at four to six years of age.

The vaccine is very effective: 99 percent of children are protected from the disease for life.