NY Officials Detect Polio Again, Warn of Possible Summer Wave
upstart writes:
With new detection, officials warn of spring and summer transmission risks:
Health officials in New York have once again detected poliovirus in wastewater from Rockland County, where a case of paralytic polio occurred last summer.
Wastewater samples from Rockland and several nearby counties were positive for poliovirus for months after the initial case was reported in July, suggesting widespread circulation of the virus in the region.
So far this year, officials have only detected poliovirus in one sample, which was collected from Rockland in February. Two samples from the county taken during March were negative. Before the detection in February, the last positive sample from the region was found in mid-December in Orange County, just north of Rockland. The last positive detection in Rockland was in October.
While the data doesn't suggest that poliovirus is again circulating widely in the region, health officials are wary that the virus could easily restart. Rockland has one of the lower vaccination rates in the state; as of August, only 60.34 percent of 2-year-olds in the county were up to date on their polio vaccinations. Some areas of the county have rates in the 50s.
Officials are concerned about the potential for international spread of polio to Rockland's sizable Jewish community during upcoming holiday travel.
[...] Officials continue pushing for vaccination in parts of the county where anti-vaccine sentiments are high. They're offering free polio boosters at walk-in clinics, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to audit vaccination coverage at day cares and schools, and trying to improve vaccination messaging.
"It is our obligation to protect all our residents from these debilitating and potentially fatal diseases. The law requiring childhood vaccinations has been in place for many years for this very reason," County Executive Ed Day said. "I urge our residents to act now and protect yourselves, your family, and your community."
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