First COVID. Then monkeypox. Now, there is building evidence that Americans should be concerned about polio too.
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The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) on Thursday urged polio immunizations for all residents, not just children. The agency issued the plea amid recent findings of the virus in wastewater samples in two counties. The agency added that it had discovered local transmission.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined genetic linkage between three positive samples from Rockland County and four from Orange County, according to the statement.
Specifically, the samples were linked to a resident in Rockland County who became the first person to contract the virus in the U.S. since 2013.
Polio Concerns Grow In New York
Last month, state health officials insisted that children be vaccinated against polio. But in Thursday’s update, the NYSDOH indicated that the matter is getting increasingly worse.
The new findings in Rockland County and Orange County “provide further evidence of local — not international — transmission of a polio virus that can cause paralysis and potential community spread,” the statement said.
The Rockland County, New York, resident contracted the virus after contact with another infected individual.
The New York resident did not travel out of the United States. That led experts to believe that they contracted polio from another person in the country.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett on Thursday told New Yorkers to be vigilant in light of the new findings.
“Based on earlier polio outbreaks, New Yorkers should know that for every one case of paralytic polio observed, there may be hundreds of [others],” she said. “Coupled with the latest wastewater findings, the Department is treating the single case of polio as just the tip of the iceberg. … As we learn more, what we do know is clear: the danger of polio is present in New York today.”