New York officials are warning that hundreds of Empire State residents may already be infected with the devastating poliovirus after it was discovered in the sewage of a second borough in the state.
State surveillance detected the presence of the poliovirus 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 comes within weeks after officials announced a confirmed case of polio in Rockland County — northwest of the Big Apple’s Bronx borough. The virus was also detected in Rockland’s sewage last month.
Because polio is asymptomatic in most cases, it is likely that detecting one symptomatic case means there could be hundreds of others that are never detected. Finding the virus in sewage samples from several counties confirms fears that the virus had been spreading in the state for some time before the Rockland case was discovered.
Officials are urging the population to get vaccinated to prevent a resurgence of the devastating virus. Orange and Rockland are both among the counties with the lowest immunization coverage for the virus — at 59 and 60 percent, respectively. No risk is assumed from a person who has already been vaccinated.
New York officials are warning that “hundreds” of New Yorkers may already be infected with polio after at least three sewage samples were discovered in two counties outside of New York City (file photo).
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 paralytic polio, hundreds of other people may be infected,” said Dr. Mary Bassett, the state health commissioner.
dr New York Health Commissioner Mary Bassett (pictured) warns there may be hundreds of undetected polio cases in the state
“In conjunction with the latest findings on wastewater, the Department is treating the individual case of polio as just the tip of the iceberg with a much larger potential spread.
“As we learn more, what we know will become clear: the threat of polio is present in New York today. We must address this moment by ensuring that adults, including pregnant women, and infants up to 2 months of age are up to date on their vaccinations.’
In response to the case confirmed on July 21, New York State officials launched polio surveillance measures.
The case has been confirmed in an Orthodox Jewish man in his 20s. He himself is not vaccinated and has contracted the vaccine-derived version of the virus.
Vaccine-derived polio can develop when a person receives a live virus vaccine — an oral immunization that can transmit the virus to others through fecal contamination.
This vaccine is no longer used in America, which means it’s likely transmitted from a person who received it abroad and ended up coming back to this man from New York.
He became paralyzed as a result of his infection and is now recovering at home after being hospitalized. Earlier this week it was reported that he still has trouble walking.
Polio: Once the most feared disease in America, it has now become a rarity
Polio is a serious viral infection that used to be widespread around the world.
The virus lives in the throat and intestines for up to six weeks, with patients being most contagious seven to 10 days before and after symptoms appear.
But it can spread to the spinal cord, causing muscle weakness and paralysis.
The virus is more common in infants and young children and occurs in poor sanitation conditions.
how deadly is it
Most people show no signs of infection at all, but about 1 in 20 people have mild symptoms, such as fever, muscle weakness, headache, nausea, and vomiting.
About 1 in 50 patients develop severe muscle pain and stiffness in the neck and back.
Less than 1% of polio cases result in paralysis and one in 10 deaths.
Of those who develop symptoms, these usually appear three to 21 days after infection and include:
- High temperature
- Sore throat
- headache
- stomach pain
- Muscle cramp
- nausea and vomiting
How is it spreading?
People can get polio from airborne droplets when someone coughs or sneezes, or when they come into contact with an infected person’s feces.
This includes food, water, clothing or toys.
Does polio still exist in the US?
The last case of human-to-human transmission in the US was in 1979, which was also the last wild case of polio.
Since then, however, there have been several dozen cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus, although these were one-off cases with no onward transmission.
Given his lack of international travel during the standard infection time, it’s likely he contracted the virus in the United States. This alerted officials to begin surveillance.
Polio was detected in sewage sampling in Rockland County in June. It was also spotted in Orange County in June and July.
“With the rapid spread of polio, now is the time for every adult, parent and guardian to get themselves and their children vaccinated as soon as possible,” Basset said.
Polio is a potentially disabling and life-threatening disease that, in severe cases, can spread to the spinal cord, causing paralysis and even death.
It is highly contagious and spreads after someone touches a surface contaminated with an infected person’s feces and then touches their own mouth.
About one in four people who contract the virus develop flu-like symptoms such as a sore throat, fever, fatigue and abdominal pain.
One in 25 will get meningitis – if the spinal cord is infected – and later paralysis. Of these, up to one in ten will die from the infection.
It was once the most feared disease in the US, causing panic in the 1940s.
Parents feared letting their children play outside — especially in the summer when the virus was more prevalent — and public health officials quarantined homes and even entire cities where it was detected.
It was responsible for more than 15,000 cases of paralysis and hundreds of deaths each year.
But in the mid-1950s, the country began rolling out poliovirus vaccines to prevent the disease.
By 1979, the United States declared the virus eliminated. There has been no known transmission on US soil since then.
The vaccine has also been rolled out globally, with the virus pushed back to just a few countries.
It is now only known to circulate in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The WHO warns that as long as it continues to spread there, it remains a threat to the world.
But in recent years – as the virus has faded from national memory – vaccination rates in the United States have slowed.
Latest figures show that about 92.6 percent of Americans will be vaccinated against polio by their second birthday.
This is below the 95 percent threshold required to stop an outbreak, according to the WHO.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all children should be vaccinated against polio.
It is given as four injections into the leg or arm, with the first dose being given at two months of age, the second at four months of age, the third between the ages of six and 18 months, and the last dose between the ages of four and administered for six years.
The vaccine is highly effective, 99 percent of children are protected from the disease for life.