- New York health officials have warned that “hundreds” of people may have contracted polio.
- The virus was previously detected in wastewater in two counties near New York City.
- Officials are warning all unvaccinated adults and children to get the polio vaccine.
New York health officials say “hundreds” of people may have contracted polio after the virus was detected in wastewater.
Officials are warning anyone who has not been vaccinated against the virus to get vaccinated as soon as possible, according to the health ministry statement on Thursday.
“Based on early polio outbreaks, New Yorkers should know that for every observed case of paralytic polio, hundreds of people may be infected,” said State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett.
The virus was first detected in wastewater samples in June in Rockland County, near New York City, and has since been detected in neighboring Orange County, the statement said.
“Combined with the latest wastewater findings, the department is viewing single-case polio as the tip of the iceberg of a much larger potential transmission,” Bassett said. “As we learn more, what we do know is clear: polio The danger of inflammation exists in New York today.”
Seven positive samples were detected, all with unvaccinated people People with Paralytic Polio in Rockland County mid-JulyThat person was not a “source of transmission,” and “a case investigation into the origin of the virus is ongoing,” officials said in the statement.
“The unprecedented spread of polio in our communities of this devastating disease, eradicated from the United States in 1979, must be stopped,” said Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Rupert. “Any unvaccinated polio must be stopped. Both children and adults who are vaccinated should receive their first polio vaccine immediately.”
