News to Note

Polio is on our minds and in the News....

Dear Rotarians,
 
My name is Glenn T. Garlick and this year I was once again asked to be the D6440 End Polio Now Chair.  In the past month we have had two reports of Vaccine derived polio in western countries – England and United States.  I’d like to offer my assistance in explaining where Rotary International is in the fight to eradicate Wild Polio. 
 
Please talk to your club’s admin or speaker coordinator and let’s set up a date where I can come in and explain where we are at now and the plan going forward to eradicate Wild Polio. 
 
If you would like to combine that talk with a brief talk about the Rotary Foundation, That could be arraigned. I look forward to getting out to all of the clubs for this important discussion.
 
Blessings,
Glenn T. Garlick
Proud Member of Buffalo Grove Rotary Club
630-399-2421        gtgarlick@yahoo.com
Rotary District 6440 “The HOME District”
 
District End Polio Now Chair
2020-2021,2021-2022,2022-2023
District Veterans Affairs Liaison
2020-2021,2021-2022,2022-2023
District Community Service Advisor
2017-2018,2018-2019,2029-2020
District Community Service Committee
2016-2017
WHAT WILL OUR CLUB DO?
World Polio Day is October 24th – but we must plan now.
 
But due to the fact that Polio is in the news why not start now?  
 
Here are some things to consider:
  • A Committee to Plan Community Events
  • Polio Banner in NB Triangle Park
  • Coin Collections at local retailers
  • Library Display
  • Bring the Iron Lung to Northbrook
  • Etc?
ABC News - LOS ANGELES -- It's been nearly a decade since polio was detected in the United States.

Now, an unvaccinated young adult from New York recently contracted the potentially debilitating disease.
Experts say a newly identified case just outside of the Bronx in New York should serve as a wakeup call.

"If you are an adult, you know, particularly if you're 30 or 40 and it has been a while since you were immunized, you might be required to get a booster," said infectious disease specialist Dr. Daisy Dodd with Kaiser Permanente Orange County.

Polio boosters are routine for those who travel to third world countries, and anyone who's come into contact with the Rockland County resident is encouraged to get vaccinated.

"We just want people to take the good guidance from the health department as necessary. Most people have nothing to worry about, some should be concerned," said Rockland County Executive Ed Day.

Polio is a viral disease spread through fecal matter, contaminated food or water.

On rare occasions, Dodd said, one can get polio from someone who is shedding the virus after receiving the oral vaccine. Officials say this is what happened in New York.

"The result of that in the U.S., we no longer give the oral vaccine or the live attenuated vaccine," she said.

"It's an amazing vaccine that people waited online for back in the mid-1950s," said Dr. Patricia Ruppert, the Rockland County Commissioner of Hospitals.

The injectable version, which is the version given in the U.S. now, does not contain live virus. The patient, who is suffering from paralysis, started experiencing symptoms a month ago.

"Not only does it give you vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, but it can lead to paralysis because it does affect the central nervous system," Dodd said.

Polio was once one of the nation's most feared diseases with annual outbreaks causing thousands of cases of paralysis. Thanks to the vaccine, polio was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 1979.

Officials say vaccine hesitancy is on the rise.

Experts warn it's a situation that can lead to more outbreaks of diseases Americans haven't seen in a long time.

"It is a reminder that we have to get our children, and perhaps, ourselves either the primary series or the booster shots, and do not forget to wash those hands," Dodd said.