POLIO OUTBREAK IN MINNESOTA FIRST IN COUNTRY SINCE 1979
Wednesday, October 19th, 2005 -- 11:35 AM
Wisconsin officials are undoubtedly interested in a recent polio outbreak in Minnesota?s Amish community. Four children are confirmed infected, although none have become paralyzed.This is the first known outbreak of polio in the United States in 26 years. The Amish are considered especially vulnerable to Polio because they typically decline to vaccinate children, and the last large outbreak of polio occurred in numerous Amish communities in several states in 1979.
Officials say the outbreak poses little threat outside the Amish community where about 98-percent of Minnesota's children are vaccinated against polio.
Wisconsin has the fourth largest Amish population in the country.
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