Earlier this month health officials announced polio virus had been detected in New York City's wastewater. In July, authorities began investigating the spread after a case of vaccine-derived poliomyelitis type 2 was found in the stool of a young adult in Rockland County. Now, the state has declared an emergency after the virus was detected by the CDC in wastewater samples from Long Island, signaling the growing community spread of the virus that can cause paralysis. The sample was genetically linked to the case of paralytic polio in Rockland County, the first in the US in a decade. Poliomyelitis has also been detected in Orange and Sullivan Counties, as well as New York City. [photo courtesy: CDC]
Before the development of effective vaccines, polio was the scourge of young people, periodically erupting in communities across the nation. The March of Dimes was started to raise funds for vaccine development. Health experts warn that for every detected case, hundreds more may be infected. The governor's emergency order expands the availability of vaccination providers and allows physicians to issue standing vaccination orders. Governor Hochul's decree will expire on October 9th.