America’s first case of polio in nearly a decade is an Orthodox Jewish man

The first case of polio in the United States in a decade has been diagnosed in an Orthodox Jewish man just north of New York City.

Local health officials announced the case on Thursday and said they would begin a drive to increase vaccination against the potentially deadly virus. They said the victim was experiencing paralysis, a hallmark of the disease, and that he had not been vaccinated against it.

Multiple sources told the New York Jewish Week that the man is part of Rockland County’s substantial Jewish community. A local elected official said the same thing in a now-deleted statement condemning those who do not vaccinate, which drew fierce criticism on Twitter from many in the local Jewish community.

“He was released from the hospital,” one source told the Jewish Week on condition of anonymity. “He’s a young adult, in a wheelchair. He got married recently.”