What you should know
- The polio virus was detected in sewage samples from a suburban county near New York City, where an unvaccinated adult recently contracted the potentially deadly disease.
- However, health authorities said Tuesday that they have not identified any additional cases.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the virus was detected in sewage samples collected in early June from Rockland County, where officials announced the first case of polio in the United States on July 21. in almost a decade.
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NEW YORK — The polio virus has been detected in sewage samples from the suburban county near New York City, where an unvaccinated adult recently contracted the potentially deadly disease, but health officials said Tuesday they have not No additional cases identified.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the virus was detected in sewage samples collected in early June from Rockland County, where officials announced the first case of polio in the United States on July 21. in almost a decade.
The unidentified young adult had a strain of the virus that has since been genetically linked to samples found in Rockland County sewage, as well as samples in the London and Jerusalem area.
The CDC said in a prepared statement that the New York sewage sample shows there may be more people in the community who are spreading the virus.
“However, it is important to note that we do not have enough information at this time to determine whether the virus is actively spreading in New York or elsewhere in the US, and no additional cases have been identified,” according to the CDC.
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 US. In rare cases, people who receive the live virus can spread it to other people who have not been vaccinated.
New York health officials said they couldn’t say conclusively whether the Rockland County samples came from the patient, who developed symptoms in June.
As for the broader implications, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said in a statement Friday 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 locations.” 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 the populous northern suburbs of New York City 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.
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