According to officials, the presence of the virus in waste water indicates that it is circulating in the general public. New York's health commissioner said hundreds more may be undetected if every case of paralytic was identified. She said that the finding isn't a surprise. There have been cases of the disease for months now.
On July 21st, a case of paralytic polio was confirmed in Rockland County, New York. Wastewater samples from Rockland and Orange Counties, both in New York City, were analyzed earlier this summer and spring and it was found that there was more than one case of the disease there. Since 1979 there have been no locally transmitted cases of the disease in the United States.
The United Kingdom reported that they had detected the disease in sewage. In 2003 the diseases were declared eliminated there. One of the first signs of a possible resurgence of the disease was the case of a 3-year-old girl in the country of Malawi.
The transmission of the disease can be aided by cases of the vaccine-preventable illness. According to the CDC, almost three-quarters of people who get infections never show any symptoms, and most of the others have flu-like symptoms.
A small percentage of people develop a version of the disease with more severe symptoms that can lead to permanent paralysis. According to the World Health Organization, the rate is around one in 200 infections. A person can die if their ability to breathe is affected.
Hundreds of thousands of confirmed cases were caused by the disease once. Many were killed and many more were left paralyzed and dependent on iron lungs to live. Three people who survived the disease in the U.S. were still using the machines as of last year. The worst outbreak in the U.S. happened in 1952 and killed over twenty thousand people.
Over the course of a few decades, the disease was almost completely eradicated thanks to an effective vaccine developed by the renowned scientist. There were just 6 cases of the disease in 2011. All three doses of the vaccine are considered to be 99% to 100% protective.
For participation in the public school system in the U.S., vaccinations are recommended and widely required. The anti-vax movement has led many parents to choose not to vaccine their kids.
Orange County, NY has a lower vaccine rate than Rockland County, which has a higher one. Most of the children in New York City have received all three doses of the vaccine. In some neighborhoods, the children have lower rates of the disease and are more at risk.
The most important thing people can do is to get their childrenvaccinated against the disease. If someone hasn't gotten the vaccine, it's never too late Vaccinations prevent illness and save lives.
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