Polio Viruses in Wastewater Samples – Disaster Declare in New York – News

• New York Governor Cathy Hochhol declared a state of disaster after polio virus was detected in sewage samples from four neighborhoods.
• Unvaccinated residents of the city are invited to be vaccinated.

Viral polio, also known as polio, was diagnosed in July in the US state of New York for the first time in nearly ten years.

Polio is an incurable viral disease that often remains asymptomatic, but can also cause flu-like symptoms such as sore throat, fever, fatigue, and nausea. In a small percentage of cases, the virus can enter the nervous system and cause irreversible paralysis.

The disease was once the most feared disease in the United States, with waves of infection affecting approximately 35,000 people annually. In Germany, the virus has been considered eradicated since nationwide vaccinations in the 1960s. In June, polio virus was also detected in London wastewater, for the first time since the 1980s.

According to the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), the last case of polio caused by a wild virus in Switzerland occurred in 1982.