We've all said the word virus far too many times in the last two years.

Think about it, how much did you say that word? We briefly discuss it each fall when flu season ramps up, we mentioned it for a bit while Zika virus hit the States, but by-and-large, we didn't whip out the V-word very often. That was, of course, until March of 2020, when that word became the most poignant way to describe life itself.

Now, when we were saying it then, we were talking about COVID-19. There are other viruses still out there, however, and a New Yorker has contracted an increasingly rare one.

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New Yorker Contracts Polio, First U.S. Citizen with Disease Since 2013

According to a report from ABC News 10 in Albany, as well as a number of other publications, a New York resident has contracted the polio virus. Reports claim that this is the first confirmed case of polio in the United States in nearly a decade, with the last coming in 2013.

The victim lives in Rockland County, which is on the northern part of the New York City metropolitan area, and is roughly a two-hour drive to Albany. No other information has been shared on who the victim is, nor how they contracted a virus that has gone essentially dormant in the United States.

Franklin Roosevelt
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who contracted polio in 1921 / Getty Images
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ABC News 10 did share a bit of interesting information, though: the victim had been vaccinated against polio, but with an oral vaccine that was discontinued around the turn of the century. Modern polio vaccines, which were introduced in 2000, come in shot form.

Polio can be devastating, and even deadly, which is why Rockland County has set up two polio vaccination sites in their area. The virus can go completely undetected for some people, but for others, it can cause muscle weakness, paralysis, or worse. Though most are vaccinated against it, some may not have the modern version of the vaccine, and would therefore be susceptible should it spread from the original patient.

This virus is no joke. Please, be careful out there.

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