The governor of the US state of New York has declared a so-called “disaster emergency” after the discovery of the polio virus in sewage samples in another county in the New York area. New York health authorities began checking for signs of the virus in sewage after the United States reported its first confirmed case of polio in nearly a decade in July in Rockland County, about 48 kilometers (30 miles) north of Manhattan. The most recent detection was in a sample from Nassau County on Long Island, the state Department of Health announced Friday. The virus has also been detected in samples taken every month since April in Orange, Rockland and Sullivan counties, as well as around New York. “New York State has experienced a disaster for which affected local governments are unable to adequately respond,” Gov. Kathy Hotchul said in Friday’s disaster statement. The order allows EMS workers, midwives and pharmacists to administer polio vaccines and gives doctors the authority to issue standing orders for the vaccine. Data on vaccinations will be used to focus vaccination efforts where they are most needed. “In polio, we simply cannot roll the dice,” state Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T Bassett said in a statement. “If you or your child are not vaccinated or up-to-date with vaccinations, the risk of polio is real. I urge New Yorkers to take absolutely no risk.” New York City officials said in July that the polio case was confirmed in a young, unvaccinated man in Rockland Country. “The sample collected in August from Nassau County has been genetically linked” to this confirmed case, the health department said Friday, amounting to “further evidence of community spread.” Polio was once one of the country’s most feared diseases, with annual outbreaks causing thousands of cases of paralysis. The virus, which is transmitted between people and is highly contagious, mainly affects children under the age of five, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Its symptoms include a sore throat, fever, fatigue and nausea, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says on its website. Most people infected with polio do not have symptoms, but they can still transmit the virus for days and even weeks. In New York, the statewide polio vaccination rate is 79 percent, but Rockland, Orange and Sullivan counties had lower rates. Officials said it is possible that hundreds of people in the state may have contracted polio and not know it. The governor’s emergency declaration will remain in effect until October 9.
