The 4 wastewater samples had been collected in July and August in Sullivan County, northwest of Orange County. CNN beforehand reported that polio was recognized in wastewater samples from Rockland County, Orange County and New York Metropolis. The state Division of Well being introduced Friday that the Sullivan County samples had been genetically linked to the beforehand recognized case of polio in Rockland County, the place a person was recognized with paralytic polio.
Well being officers warned on Friday of increasing group unfold of the virus.
“One New Yorker paralyzed by polio is already too many, and I don’t wish to see one other paralytic case,” State Well being Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett stated in an announcement. “The polio in New York immediately is an imminent menace to all adults and youngsters who’re unvaccinated or not updated with their polio immunizations. Each New Yorker, dad or mum, guardian, and pediatrician should do every part attainable to make sure they, their kids, and their sufferers are protected in opposition to this harmful, debilitating illness by way of protected and efficient vaccination.”
Polio could cause incurable paralysis and dying, however most individuals within the US are protected by vaccination. Nonetheless, vaccination charges in a number of New York counties are low. As of August 1, Rockland County’s polio vaccination price was 60.34%, the discharge reveals. Orange County’s is 58.68% and Sullivan County’s 62.33%. New York’s statewide polio vaccination common is 78.96% for youngsters who’ve acquired three polio immunizations earlier than their second birthday.
The state’s well being division, in partnership with native well being authorities and the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, launched wastewater surveillance after a younger grownup was recognized with polio in Rockland County in June.
To this point, the state has recognized just one case of polio. Nonetheless, many polio circumstances are asymptomatic, and people can unfold the virus even when they are not experiencing signs.
Earlier this month, Dr. José Romero, director of the CDC’s Nationwide Middle for Immunization and Respiratory Ailments, stated the polio case recognized in New York is “simply the very, very tip of the iceberg” and a sign there “should be a number of hundred circumstances locally circulating.”
