Health Diaries > Health News > Infectious Disease News > Polio
October 15, 2005
The first outbreak of polio in the United States in 26 years occurred earlier this fall in an Amish community in central Minnesota, state and federal health officials reported yesterday.
Four children have been infected with the virus, although none has become paralyzed. The Amish typically decline to vaccinate their children. The last large outbreak of polio occurred in numerous Amish communities in several states in 1979. (Washington Post)