NY CDC Sample Tests Positive for Polio in Hudson Valley – NBC New York

What you should know

• More polio has been detected in sewage samples from the Hudson Valley, this time in Orange County, according to New York state health officials, further indicating possible community spread of the virus declared eradicated in 1979.
• The CDC detected polio in samples taken in June and July from two geographically different locations in Orange County, linking them to samples from Jerusalem, Israel, and recent samples from London, England.
• The Rockland County case involved an unvaccinated patient who had a vaccine-derived strain of virus that indicates it would have been contracted by someone who received a live dose used by a country outside the US; Rarely, people who receive the live virus can pass it on to other people who have not been vaccinated.

—

NEW YORK – The CDC has detected the polio virus in more Hudson Valley sewage samples, and New York health officials are now warning that the latest environmental evidence indicates “potential community spread” of a childhood disease. that the United States declared eradicated more than four decades ago.

The New York state health department launched sewage surveillance earlier this month after officials announced the first confirmed case of polio in a US resident in nearly a decade, an unvaccinated patient in New York County. Rockland in the Hudson Valley on July 21. Such surveillance is a critical screening tool that can assess potential community spread of polio, New York health officials say, and they are testing samples across the state to be thorough in their investigation; those are sent to the CDC.

And the CDC has found more traces of polio, according to the state of New York. The health agency detected the virus in sewage samples taken between June and July at two geographically different locations in Orange County, he said.

“These environmental findings, which indicate possible community spread, in addition to the case of paralytic polio identified among a Rockland County resident, underscore the urgency for all New York adults and children to be vaccinated against polio, especially those in the New York metropolitan area,” the statement continued.

Health officials say samples from the confirmed case from Rockland County appear to be genetically linked to two samples collected in early June from Rockland County and samples from the greater Jerusalem, Israel area, as well as to environmental samples recently detected in London. The Rockland County resident has no known travel to Israel, authorities said.

Learn more about polio from the NYSDOH here.

Health officials have said the patient had acquired a “vaccine-derived” strain of the virus, meaning it likely originated from someone who was inoculated with a live vaccine, available in other countries but not in the United States. In rare cases, the live virus can be transmitted to other people who have not been vaccinated.

As for the broader implications, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said last week that genetic and epidemiological investigations are attempting to “determine the possible spread of the virus and the potential risk associated with these various isolates detected in different parts of the world.” ”.

Polio, once one of the nation’s most feared diseases, was declared eliminated in the United States in 1979, more than two decades after vaccines became available. Its discovery in Rockland County sparked a local vaccination campaign.

“Given how quickly polio can spread, now is the time for all adults, parents and guardians to vaccinate themselves and their children as soon as possible,” said Commissioner of Policing Dr. Mary T. Bassett. New York State Health.

–