Status: 09/15/2022 07:56 a.m
The polio outbreak in New York can no longer be limited to isolated cases. Poor hygiene and vaccination skepticism favor the spread of the virus. Scientists sound the alarm.
By Peter Mücke, ARD Studio New York
It sounds like an isolated case. In July, a man in Rockland County, New York, became seriously ill with polio. According to media reports, the 20-year-old, who was not vaccinated, is paralyzed by the infection. The first case in the US in more than ten years.
Paralysis is a very rare consequence of polio infection, even when people are unvaccinated. 75 percent of those infected have no symptoms at all. Nearly 25 percent have only very mild symptoms. Less than one percent of even those who are not vaccinated develop a severe course. This means that for one case of paralysis there are probably hundreds or thousands of infections.
Different virus strains discovered
For Adam Ratner, director of the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at NYU Langone University Hospital, it was clear as early as July this year that the polio case was a public health emergency. The authorities took a little longer. Just a few days ago, the state of New York declared a disaster. Because the virus has now also been detected in the wastewater of the metropolis:
The polio virus is here. It circulates. It gets into the sewer because infected people excrete the virus. And if such people don’t wash their hands and come into contact with unvaccinated people, we may soon be seeing paralyzed children. Or adults on ventilators they can never get off.
That says Daniel Griffin, professor of clinical medicine at New York’s Columbia University. Different strains of the virus have been found in the wastewater of four boroughs and some surrounding counties.
Another indication that it is not just an isolated case. “It’s worrying. In fact, it’s very worrying,” Griffin said. “I hope this is an alarm signal for people who are not vaccinated or have unvaccinated children. A wake-up call.”
Vaccination skepticism among orthodox Jews
The vaccination rate for two-year-old children in New York State is only 79 percent. In Rockland County – 50 kilometers north of New York City – just 60 percent. There was a severe polio case with paralysis. Local media reported that the infected person belongs to a Jewish Orthodox community there.
Orthodox Jews are particularly skeptical about vaccinations – and are heavily represented in Rockland County. In an open letter, more than a dozen rabbis called on their parishioners to be vaccinated against polio. Shoshana Bernstein, herself an orthodox Jew, also educates the communities about vaccinations:
Secular media hardly get through here. There are many rumours. When the CDC publishes something, nobody reads it. I always say: it is very easy to stir up fear and very difficult to undo it.
She now hopes for the older members of the congregation. You could still remember outbreaks of polio in the 1950s and convince younger people to get vaccinated.
Polio on the rise – New York declares a disaster
Peter Mücke, ARD New York, September 15, 2022 6:18 a.m