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From: childkillers@cnn.com
In article
governor.swill@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Pelosi says that it is justly deserved because New Yorkers vote Democrat.
New York state health officials have found indications of
additional cases of polio virus in wastewater samples from two
different counties, leading them to warn that hundreds of people
may be infected with the potentially serious virus.
Just two weeks ago, the New York Health Department reported the
nation's first case of polio in almost a decade, in Rockland
County, north of New York City. Officials said that case
occurred in a previously healthy young adult who was
unvaccinated and developed paralysis in their legs. Since then,
three positive wastewater samples from Rockland County and four
from neighboring Orange County were discovered and genetically
linked to the first case, the health department said in a press
release on Thursday, suggesting that the polio virus is being
spread within local communities. The newest samples were taken
from two locations in Orange County in June and July and one
location in Rockland County in July.
"Based on earlier polio outbreaks, New Yorkers should know that
for every one case of paralytic polio observed, there may be
hundreds of other people infected," State Health Commissioner
Dr. Mary T. Bassett said. "Coupled with the latest wastewater
findings, the Department is treating the single case of polio as
just the tip of the iceberg of much greater potential spread. As
we learn more, what we do know is clear: the danger of polio is
present in New York today."
The health department reiterated that it is still investigating
the virus' origin, and said that it is not yet clear whether the
infected person in Rockland County was linked to the other cases.
Polio is "a serious and life-threatening disease," the state
health department said. It is highly contagious and can be
spread by people who aren't yet symptomatic. Symptoms usually
appear within 30 days of infection, and can be mild or flu-like.
Some people who are infected may become paralyzed or die.
Before the polio vaccine was introduced in the 1950s, thousands
of Americans died in polio outbreaks and tens of thousands, many
of them children, were left with paralysis. After a successful
vaccination campaign, polio was officially declared eradicated
in the U.S. in 1979.
Unvaccinated New Yorkers are encouraged to get immunized right
away, the health department said. Unvaccinated people who live,
work or spend time in Rockland County, Orange County and the
greater New York metropolitan area are at the greatest risk.
Most school-aged children have received the polio vaccine, which
is a four-dose course, started between 6 weeks and 2 months of
age and followed by one shot at 4 months, one at 6 to 12 months,
and one between the ages of 4 and 6. According to the health
department, about 60% of children in Rockland County have
received three polio shots before their second birthday, as have
about 59% in Orange County — both below the 79% statewide figure.
According to the CDC's most recent childhood vaccination data,
about 93% of 2-year-olds in the U.S. had received at least three
doses of polio vaccine.
Meanwhile, adults who are not vaccinated would receive a three-
dose immunization, and those who are vaccinated but at high risk
can receive a lifetime booster shot, according to the health
department.
The vaccine is 99% effective in children who receive the full
four-dose regime, health officials said.
"It is concerning that polio, a disease that has been largely
eradicated through vaccination, is now circulating in our
community, especially given the low rates of vaccination for
this debilitating disease in certain areas of our County,"
Orange County Health Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman said. "I urge
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