“Polio Paul” Alexander spent his final days battling COVID while struggling to eat and drink, his social media manager has revealed. The polio survivor, famed for spending more than 70 years inside an iron lung, died Monday in Dallas, Texas, at the age of 78. While an official cause of death hasn’t been publicly disclosed, … Read more
A polio survivor who spent more than seven decades living inside an iron long has died at 78. Paul Alexander, widely known as “Polio Paul,” passed away Monday in Texas, according to Christopher Ulmer, the organizer of his official GoFundMe account. “Paul, you will be missed but always remembered,” Ulmer wrote. “Thanks for sharing your … Read more
A man dubbed “Polio Paul” has lived inside a 600-pound iron lung for seven decades, reportedly refusing to upgrade to a modern machine. Paul Alexander, 77, contracted polio in 1952 when he was 6 years old. In March, Guinness World Records declared him the longest iron lung patient ever. He has faced many challenges since he was … Read more
More evidence of polio has been detected in New York City wastewater, according to the state Department of Health. So far, only one case of polio has been identified, in a previously healthy 20-year-old man from Rockland County who developed paralysis in his legs, local officials said. As of Oct. 7, 70 wastewater samples have … Read more
A research assistant prepares a PCR reaction for polio at a lab at Queens College on August 25, 2022, in New York City. Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images When a young adult in a New York City suburb visited an emergency department in June after experiencing weakness in their lower legs, the shocking … Read more
A specific type of poliovirus has been spreading in Rockland County, New York, as well as in neighboring areas, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to add the United States to a list of countries (opens in new tab) where similar polioviruses have been detected. The list includes about 30 countries in Europe, Asia and … Read more
Understandably, these events have sparked a lot of questions: Why does one case of polio worry officials? What does it mean to find poliovirus in wastewater? Who should be worried about contracting the disease? If someone had the vaccine years ago, are they still protected now? To understand more about this disease, which most people … Read more
Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock) A virus that can rarely cause a polio-like paralysis in children has resurfaced in the U.S. after mostly disappearing during the covid-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that it has spotted a surge of cases linked to enterovirus D-68. Based on recent past outbreaks, officials expect that a … Read more
(WXIN) – Doctors across the U.S. have seen an increase among children of a respiratory virus that can cause polio-like muscle weakness. In most cases, enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) causes a respiratory illness with mild symptoms. It can, however, result in a condition called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) that can cause inflammation of the spinal cord. … Read more
One of my earliest memories, perhaps the earliest of all, goes back to when I was about four years old, in 1946, living in the Bronx borough of New York City. I awoke to a searing headache and fiery fever, aching all over. I remember a tube being inserted into my privates, to help withdraw … Read more
<!– –> New York health department has asked people not to take polio lightly. New York declared a state of emergency over polio in an effort to boost vaccination rates after evidence of the virus’s spread mounted when it was found in wastewater samples in Nassau County on Long Island. The executive order, signed Friday … Read more
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday the state was stepping up its polio-fighting efforts as the virus that causes the life-threatening disease was detected in the wastewater of yet another county in the New York City area. Health officials began checking for signs of the virus in sewage water after … Read more
NASSAU COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) — Nassau is the latest county in the state to detect polio in the wastewater — indicating community spread. Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency amid “evidence of circulating polio.” The declaration will allow more types of providers to administer the polio vaccine, like pharmacists, in effect, making … Read more
Polio has reappeared in the United States for the first time in a generation. On July 18, the New York State Department of Health told the US Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention that it had detected poliovirus, which can cause polio, in a young adult from Rockland County, outside New York, who Can … Read more