The polio virus might have a cute name (well, it’s actually an abbreviation), but trust us, there’s nothing cute anymore if you become infected with it. People are now fearing that they might get to deal with polio after the virus was detected in wastewater from four counties in New York State.
As a result of the detection, vaccinations for polio are now taken more into account in New York. Governor Kathy Hochul even declared a disaster emergency, hoping to vaccinate residents, as Reuters reveals.
The first polio case was confirmed in July in the US after a decade
An adult who lives in Rockland County from New York State represented the first polio case in the US in almost a decade.
What’s also frightening about polio, except for the fact that it can cause severe illness and even death in some cases, is that up to 95% of people who become infected don’t manifest any symptoms at all.
Mary Bassett, a State Health Commissioner, said, as Reuters quotes:
On polio, we simply cannot roll the dice,
If you or your child are unvaccinated or not up to date with vaccinations, the risk of paralytic disease is real.
The usual symptoms of polio are headaches, a high fever, muscle pain, and more that could make the infection easily mistakable for the common flu. But polio infection can even lead to a person’s death or paralysis in some cases. The virus can affect the nervous system.
A fact that the world needs to deal with is that there are plenty of people out there who are at least hesitant when it comes to vaccinations. Therefore, you can also check out the “Polio Is Back in Wealthy Countries as a Result of Increasing Vaccine Hesitancy” article that our publication posted on August 20.
