Natalia Chi
The Chicago Public Health Department announced Friday that it has begun monitoring poliovirus in wastewater.
Although there are no confirmed cases of polio in Chicago or Illinois, the department is working with several partner agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to actively divert water from plants in the city and surrounding suburbs. Said it was being tested.
Polio is believed to have been eradicated in the United States since 1979, following the widespread availability of vaccines that began 20 years ago.
But one case of paralytic polio Identified in New York State July 2022, and Further wastewater testing Poliovirus was found in New York counties with low vaccination rates.
CDPH Vice Chairman Massimo Pacilli said in a news release that the New York case “highlights the importance of rapid detection.”
New York health officials made a recommendation last week We urge anyone traveling to Israel to be fully vaccinated after four children recently tested positive in northern Israel.
Most adults and children in Illinois are vaccinated against polio. The Illinois Department of Public Health, like many other state health departments, requires children to be vaccinated against polio, among other diseases. Enroll and daycare.
Polio is a contagious disease with no cure. It can infect a person’s spinal cord and cause paralysis, causing tens of thousands of cases a year in the United States before a vaccine was available, according to the CDC, posing a major public health threat. was causing it. Many of the victims were children. Among those who suffered paralysis as a result of polio was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Local wastewater has already been monitored for the presence of COVID-19, helping public health officials track the virus during the pandemic.
rrequena@chicagoribune.com
