Why Does This Hudson Valley Town Share a Name With a Gross Virus?

Not all discoveries are pleasant ones.

So to start off, this town has to be one of the hardest to say and pronounce of all Hudson Valley towns. I'm not confident I'm saying it right and most of the people I work with feel the same way.

This is town is known for having a difficult name, but it's also known for something much bigger and crazier.

Like a lot crazier...

What Hudson Valley town shares a name with a gross disease? Why?

Ugh, not something you really want to be known for. Coxsackie, New York is located in Greene County and many people get pretty intimidated trying to say the name. I'll spare you all the ways I've heard people try to say it.

So, have you ever heard of the Coxsackievirus?

There are different forms of it, but most people know it as hand, foot and mouth disease. The person who is diagnosed with us usually comes down with a rash, does not feel well and has other symptoms like a runny nose and sore throat.. Most people who come down with the virus are children and they are usually under the age of 10.

Ugh, poor kids.

So back to the Hudson Valley.

The first case of Coxsackievirus was found here in Coxsackie, NY, granting this odd disease the name Coxsackievirus.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, no one thought of a better name that wouldn't haunt our town of Coxsackie?

I guess it's better to be known for something and not nothing.

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Here's something to be mindful of: