New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has extended the state of emergency declared in response to the spread of poliovirus after sewage tested positive in Brooklyn and Queens.
Hochul said the state disaster emergency will remain in place at least through Nov. 8 to support statewide efforts to boost the vaccination rate against polio.
The New York State Department of Health, in a statement Tuesday, said the sewage sample that tested positive in Brooklyn and Queens is genetically linked to the virus that paralyzed an unvaccinated adult in Rockland County over the summer.
The unvaccinated adult from Rockland County is the only known case of paralysis in the U.S. so far, but state health officials have said there are likely hundreds of people spreading the virus without symptoms.
“These findings put an alarming exclamation point on what we have already observed: unvaccinated people are at a real and unnecessary risk,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett and New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in a joint statement.
According to New York state health officials, 70 sewage samples have tested positive for poliovirus in the New York City metropolitan region thus far. The virus has been found in sewage from the counties of Kings, Nassau, Orange, Queens, Rockland, and Sullivan.
According to state health authorities, more than 28,000 doses of polio vaccination have been delivered in Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, and Nassau counties since July.
Most individuals are immune to polio because they were immunized as children, but New York has struggled with poor vaccination rates in some regions for years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the immunization rate for children under the age of two in Rockland County fell from 67% in 2020 to 60% in 2022. In
The United States has been identified as a nation having circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today that polioviruses found in New York, both from a case of paralytic polio in an unvaccinated adult in Rockland County and in several wastewater samples from communities near the patient’s residence,
meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) criteria for circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV), indicating that poliovirus is still being transmitted in Rockland County, NY, and surrounding areas.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborates closely with WHO, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and other international public health partners.
The virus’s genetic sequences from the patient from Rockland County, NY, and wastewater specimens taken in New York have previously been connected to wastewater samples from Jerusalem, Israel, and London, UK, showing community transmission. The viral genomes from the patient as well as three wastewater samples
The viral sequences from the patient and three wastewater samples contained enough genetic alterations to qualify as vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV). These two factors – one person infected with VDPV and at least one detection of a similar VDPV in an environmental sample – fit WHO’s criteria for cVDPV, and the CDC submitted this information to WHO for inclusion on its list of nations infected with cVDPV.
There are worldwide recommendations for nations with cVDPV2 outbreaks to safeguard their citizens from polio, and the US is taking all necessary steps to avoid new instances of paralysis.
The United States has now joined the ranks of around 30 other countries where cVDPVs have been found. Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus arises when local immunity to poliovirus is low enough to allow the original weakened virus in the oral polio vaccination to be transmitted for an extended period of time.
The virus may recover its potential to infect the central nervous system and cause paralysis as it circulates and additional genetic mutations occur. It is vital to emphasize that cVDPVs are not caused by polio vaccination. The oral polio vaccination has not been used or approved in the United States since 2000, however, it is still used in several countries.
“Polio vaccination is the safest and most effective way to combat this debilitating disease, and it is critical that people in these communities who are unvaccinated get up to date on polio vaccination as soon as possible,” said Dr. José R. Romero, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “We cannot stress enough that polio is a terrible disease with no treatment.”
What caused the polio virus?
Polio is caused by one of three kinds of poliovirus. It is frequently disseminated by contact with contaminated feces. This is frequently caused by improper handwashing. It can also occur as a result of consuming contaminated food or water.
Does polio still exist today?
Polio still exists, despite the fact that occurrences have dropped by more than 99% since 1988, from an estimated more than 350 000 cases to 22 documented cases in 2017. This decrease is the outcome of the worldwide endeavor to eliminate the illness.
What does polio do to a person?
Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is a crippling and potentially fatal disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus transmits from person to person and can infect the spinal cord, resulting in paralysis (inability to move portions of the body).
Can a person recover from polio?
People with milder polio symptoms generally recover completely within 1-2 weeks. People with more severe symptoms may be permanently weak or paralyzed, and some may die. Following recovery, a few persons may acquire “post-polio syndrome” 30-40 years after their initial illness.
Can you get polio if vaccinated?
Vaccinated individuals can propagate the virus.
As a result, young adults and children who have been immunized since the switch may still be infected with poliovirus and shed the virus in their feces. “They are immune to paralysis, but they can still contain the virus and disseminate it to others.”
The poliovirus is spreading throughout New York. Here’s what you should know.
A strain of poliovirus is circulating in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States stated that the country has now joined a list of roughly 30 other countries where the virus has been detected as being in circulation. Among these are the United Kingdom, Israel, Egypt, Yemen, and several African countries.
The announcement, made on September 13, follows the July detection of a case of paralytic polio in an unvaccinated adult in Rockland County, New York. Officials determined that the illness was caused by vaccine-derived poliovirus (find out more about this kind of poliovirus below).
Because humans shed poliovirus in their feces, Rockland and the adjacent counties increased their wastewater surveillance. The effluent
In response, New York Governor Kathy Hochul proclaimed a state of emergency on September 9 in order to increase statewide access to polio immunization.
Polio vaccination rates are barely about 60% in three of the counties where poliovirus has been identified in wastewater – Rockland, Orange, and Sullivan. The virus has also been found in New York City and Nassau County, New York.
While most persons infected with polio show no symptoms, others may experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, lethargy, or a sore throat. The virus can cause lifelong paralysis in rare cases, and the sickness can be fatal if the paralysis affects the muscles that govern breathing or swallowing. Anyone who has not been immunized is at danger of contracting paralytic polio if infected.
Polio vaccinations are classified into two categories. What’s the distinction?
Polio vaccinations are available as an injection in the arm or leg or as an oral drink. These vaccinations protect against both wild and vaccine-derived poliovirus. Both polio vaccinations were formerly administered in the United States, but the injection has been the sole polio vaccine accessible in the country since 2000 (SN: 10/27/21).
In the United States, the injection is an inactivated vaccine that is administered as part of standard pediatric vaccines. It is generated from “dead” poliovirus, which has lost its potential to cause disease. Children are given a total of four injections. Paralysis is prevented with inactivated vaccination. Read
What are polioviruses produced from vaccines?
These viruses have a connection to oral vaccination. The viruses in the vaccine can multiply and spread, but they are too weak to cause significant disease. According to Adam Lauring, a virologist and infectious diseases physician at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor,
the problem arises when an attenuated virus from the oral vaccination distributes among too many patients and regains its potential to induce paralysis. “It will develop because it can duplicate.”
Such vaccine-derived polioviruses can cause illness in communities with limited or no polio immunization.