NNew York Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a disaster case after polio viruses were detected in sewage samples from four boroughs. Unvaccinated residents of the metropolis are called upon to be immunized. “With polio, we cannot leave anything to chance,” New York City Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a statement.
The viral disease poliomyelitis, also known as poliomyelitis, was diagnosed in July in the US state of New York for the first time in almost ten years.
Polio is an incurable viral disease that often remains asymptomatic, but can also cause flu-like symptoms such as a 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 around 35,000 people annually. In Germany, the virus has been considered eradicated since nationwide vaccinations in the 1960s. In June, the polio virus was also detected in sewage in London, the first time since the 1980s.
