The US case
In July this year, a young man in Rockland County, New York, developed paralysis and was diagnosed with polio, the first US case since 2013.
He had never been vaccinated against polio, which is not uncommon among Orthodox Jewish people in some countries. Rockland County has the highest percentage of Orthodox Jewish people in the US. Currently, only about 60% of children in the county are vaccinated against polio, compared with more than 90% nationally.
As of 12 August, poliovirus was still being detected in sewage in New York City and other counties in New York State, indicating the virus is still circulating in the community.
The reason there have been no further cases of paralysis reflects the fact that only around one in 200 people infected by the virus develops paralysis.
A child in Israel
One indirect link to the New York man may be in Jerusalem where, in March 2022, poliovirus was found in sewage and one case of paralysis occurred in an unvaccinated child.
Vaccination rates among Ultra-Orthodox Jewish people in Israel have been historically low, including low uptake of COVID vaccines.
The Health Ministry has launched a polio vaccination campaign for children across the country ages six weeks to 17 years.#Israel | #polio | #vaccine https://t.co/pgJCQCuQQF
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) April 27, 2022
Read the article by Michael Toole in NewsGP.