Paralytic Polio Strain Spreading, Now Found In Sullivan County

NEW YORK — Poliovirus has now been found in a fourth New York community, state health officials announced Friday.

Poliovirus has been found in Sullivan County wastewater, in two samples collected in July and two collected in August. It's genetically linked to the case of paralytic polio previously identified in Rockland County and to the polio in wastewater for months in Rockland and Orange counties. Poliovirus has also been identified in samples collected in New York City, though that was not identified as genetically linked.

All are types of poliovirus that can cause paralysis in humans.

"One New Yorker paralyzed by polio is already too many, and I do not want to see another paralytic case," State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said in the statement. "The polio in New York today is an imminent threat to all adults and children who are unvaccinated or not up to date with their polio immunizations. Every New Yorker, parent, guardian, and pediatrician must do everything possible to ensure they, their children, and their patients are protected against this dangerous, debilitating disease through safe and effective vaccination."

Though the virus has also been genetically linked with a poliovirus strain found in wastewater in London and Jerusalem, the findings in Orange, Rockland and now Sullivan provide further evidence of local — not international — transmission.

Wastewater samples are based on water from local sewage systems, which collect and treat feces flushed down the toilet. Because people infected with polio shed virus in their stool, health officials can use this surveillance for evidence of where and when the virus is spreading in communities.

Polio moves mostly from person to person or through contaminated water. Symptoms can take up to 30 days to appear, during which time an infected individual can be shedding virus to others.

Symptoms of polio can be mild and flu-like, so for every case of paralytic polio observed, there may be hundreds of other people infected, health officials said. There is no cure for polio, also known as infantile paralysis.

It can infect a person's spinal cord, causing paralysis and possibly permanent disability and death. According to the World Health Organization, of those paralyzed, 5-10 percent die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. Even children who seem to fully recover can develop new muscle pain, weakness, or paralysis as adults, 15 to 40 years later. This is called post-polio syndrome, the CDC said.

Anyone who has not been vaccinated against polio, once the terror of families across the United States and still a global scourge, is at risk. In the 1950s, annual epidemics paralyzed more than 15,000 people each year, NYU Professor David Oshinsky told NPR in 2015.

Once the Salk and Sabin vaccines were developed, the number of polio cases in the country dwindled.

"Sullivan County is taking all reasonable steps to monitor the situation and keep the people of the County safe," Sullivan County Manager Joshua A. Potosek said in the announcement. "We urge parents and adults to be vigilant and aware of their vaccination status, because polio is a disease that can be eliminated through vaccination."

Sullivan, like Orange and Rockland has a polio vaccination rate lower than the state average. As of Aug. 1, Orange County had a polio vaccination rate of 58.68 percent, Rockland County had a polio vaccination rate of 60.34 percent, and Sullivan County had a polio vaccination rate of 62.33 percent, compared to the statewide average of 78.96 percent, among children who have received 3 polio immunizations before their second birthday.

Elsewhere in New York, Yates, Franklin and Jefferson counties also have polio vaccination rates below 70 percent. Polio vaccination rates by county are available here.

SEE ALSO:

• 'Tip Of The Iceberg': More Polio Virus Detected In The Hudson Valley
• More Poliovirus Found In Hudson Valley, NYC Wastewater
• Rockland Polio Strain Matches Virus Samples In London, Jerusalem
• Polio In Rockland: Checking School Vaccination Rates
• Polio Paralyzes Resident, Rockland Clinic Vaccinates 18
• Health Officials Concerned About Polio Vaccination Rates In The HV