The case of a young adult paralyzed by polio in New York is not simply unexpected. It’s shocking. The last time polio was diagnosed in New York State was in 1990. And yet the virus has now also been found in wastewater samples in Rockland County, Orange County and New York City. As surveillance continues, we will learn more, but what we know already is enough. We have circulating poliovirus that can cause paralysis in these communities. Polio in New York today is an imminent threat.
Unlike Covid-19, polio is not a novel disease. Once a source of terror in summer months, the virus seemed headed to the history books. Successful vaccination campaigns in the 1950s meant wild poliovirus was declared eliminated in the United States in 1979 and from the Americas in 1994.


You must be logged in to post a comment.