MAYVILLE – With Polio on the rise across New York, the Chautauqua County Health Department is recommending that locals review their vaccine histories with their health care providers to ensure that they have been vaccinated against the virus.
On Friday, the Department of Health corrected a statement made by Chautauqua County Executive to a local radio station that a Polio Case had been detected in Chautauqua County.
“I would like to provide an update that there have been no cases of polio detected in Chautauqua County,” said Executive PJ Wendel. “Routine communication from our health department shared information about a case of polio detected in Rockland County, N.Y.; however, the information was mistakenly attributed by me to being a local case during an interview with WRFA.”
Polio is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that can affect the nervous system and cause muscle weakness. The virus typically enters the body through the mouth, usually from hands contaminated with fecal matter of an infected person.
Symptoms, which can be mild and flu-like, can take up to 30 days to appear, during which time an infected individual can be shedding virus to others. Though rare, some polio cases can result in paralysis or death.
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