New York declares emergency over polio

Polio • Vaccination • New York • Poliovirus 

Health Care — New York declares emergency over polio

Dogs…most of the time they serve as our lovable companions, but they can misbehave from time to time. Though perhaps not as badly as this pooch who wielded a knife at his dog walker. 

Today in health, a disaster was declared in New York due to the detection of polio in the state’s wastewater, bolstering ongoing vaccination efforts

Hochul declares polio emergency in NY

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) declared a “disaster” in the state on Friday due to the spread of polio through wastewater. 

The emergency declaration allows a larger group of medical personnel to administer polio vaccines and requires providers to send immunization data to the New York State Department of Health. 

“On polio, we simply cannot roll the dice,” State Health Commissioner Mary

T. Bassett said in response to Hochul’s order. 

She continued: “If you or your child are unvaccinated or not up to date with vaccinations, the risk of paralytic disease is real. … Polio immunization is safe and effective — protecting nearly all people against disease who receive the recommended doses.” 

Vaccine boost: The state’s polio immunization drive will be bolstered by the New York State Immunization Information System, which will collect data on which communities need access to vaccines the most. 

The vaccination rate against polio among 2-year-old children in New York is

79 percent and “significantly less than that in several counties and zip codes,” according to the governor’s office. 

Polio vaccines will now be able to be distributed by first responders, midwives and pharmacists. 

Today's emergency declaration aims to boost access to polio vaccines in the state, allowing more types of health care providers to authorize and administer polio vaccines. It also makes it a requirement for health care providers to report vaccination data to the state, allowing health officials to better identify vulnerable areas.

The emergency stretches back to July when officials reported paralytic polio in an unvaccinated adult in Rockland County whose symptoms began in June. As of September 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has detected poliovirus in 57 wastewater samples from four counties (Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, and newcomer Nassau) and New York City, with the earliest detection in April from Orange County.

Despite public awareness and vaccination campaigns, transmission appears to be going strong. Of those 57 positive samples, 27 were detected in August. And 50 of the 57 positive samples are directly genetically linked to the paralytic polio case in Rockland. Those 50 genetically linked samples include the newest county to detect poliovirus, Nassau, which had one positive wastewater sample last month

A poliovirus, the causative agent of polio, is a serotype of the species Enterovirus C, in the family of Picornaviridae. There are three poliovirus serotypes: types 1, 2, and 3. Poliovirus is composed of an RNA genome and a protein capsid.

What caused the polio virus?

Polio is caused by 1 of 3 types of the poliovirus. It often spreads due to contact with infected feces. This often happens from poor handwashing. It can also happen from eating or drinking contaminated food or water.

What kind of virus is polio?

Polioviruses are small single-stranded RNA viruses that belong to the Enterovirus subgroup of the family Picornaviridae. Humans are the only reservoir for polio virus.

Can you get polio if vaccinated?

People with certain immune problems can catch the disease from a child who has recently been vaccinated with oral polio vaccine.

How common is polio today?

Polio does still exist, although polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated more than 350 000 cases to 22 reported cases in 2017

Where Can polio be found?

Only two polio-endemic countries (nations that have never interrupted the transmission of wild poliovirus) remain—Afghanistan and Pakistan. Without our polio eradication efforts, more than 18 million people who are currently healthy would have been paralyzed by the virus.