Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Polio Detected in NYC's Sewage, Suggesting Virus Circulating
News
By News
Published 2 years ago on
August 12, 2022

Share

 

The polio virus has been found in New York City’s wastewater in another sign that the disease, which hadn’t been seen in the U.S. in a decade, is quietly spreading among unvaccinated people, health officials said Friday.

The presence of the poliovirus in the city’s wastewater suggests likely local circulation of the virus, the city and New York state health departments said.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said the detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples in New York City is alarming but not surprising.

“The risk to New Yorkers is real but the defense is so simple — get vaccinated against polio,” New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in a statement. “With polio circulating in our communities there is simply nothing more essential than vaccinating our children to protect them from this virus, and if you’re an unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated adult, please choose now to get the vaccine. Polio is entirely preventable and its reappearance should be a call to action for all of us.”

New York City is being forced to confront polio as city health officials are struggling to vaccinate vulnerable populations against monkeypox and adjusting to changing COVID-19 guidelines.

“We are dealing with a trifecta,” Mayor Eric Adams said Friday on CNN. “COVID is still very much here. Polio, we have identified polio in our sewage, and we’re still dealing with the monkeypox crisis. But the team is there. And we’re coordinating and we’re addressing the threats as they come before us, and we’re prepared to deal with them with the assistance of Washington, D.C.”

The announcement about the discovery of the polio virus in New York City comes shortly after British health authorities reported finding evidence the virus has spread in London but found no cases in people. Children ages 1-9 in London were made eligible for booster doses of a polio vaccine Wednesday.

In New York, one person suffered paralysis weeks ago because of a polio infection in Rockland County, north of the city. Wastewater samples collected in June in both Rockland and adjacent Orange County were found to contain the virus.

Most people infected with polio have no symptoms but can still give the virus to others for days or weeks. Vaccination offers strong protection and authorities urged people who haven’t gotten the shots to seek one immediately.

Based on past outbreaks, it is possible that hundreds of people in the state have gotten polio and don’t know it, officials said.

Polio was once one of the nation’s most feared diseases, with annual outbreaks causing thousands of cases of paralysis. The disease mostly affects children.

Vaccines became available starting in 1955, and a national vaccination campaign cut the annual number of U.S. cases to less than 100 in the 1960s and fewer than 10 in the 1970s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A small percentage of people who contract polio suffer paralysis. The disease is fatal for 5-10% of those paralyzed.

All schoolchildren in New York are required to have a polio vaccine, but Rockland and Orange counties are both known as centers of vaccine resistance.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

DON'T MISS

Homeowners’ Effort to Leave Sierra Unified Ends With County Ed Rejection

DON'T MISS

Will Terance Frazier’s Nonprofit Exit Granite Park or Fight?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Sends Pickup Into Tree, Dark Tint Cited as Cause

DON'T MISS

November Has Scattered Cool Temps, Rain Showers for Fresno

DON'T MISS

Beyoncé Makes Grammy History With ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Leading 2025 Nominations

DON'T MISS

Macklin Celebrini, NHL’s Youngest Player, Scores on Marc-Andre Fleury, League’s Oldest

DON'T MISS

Ramsey, Beckham Return to SoFi Stadium When the Struggling Dolphins Visit the Streaking Rams

DON'T MISS

San Francisco’s First Black Female Mayor Concedes to Levi Strauss Heir

DON'T MISS

FBI Thwarts Iranian Murder-for-Hire Plan Targeting Donald Trump

UP NEXT

Judge Continues to Block Florida Officials From Threatening TV Stations Over Abortion Ads

UP NEXT

Eyewitness Video Captures Frantic Efforts to Save Lives After Deadly Collapse of Dock Walkway

UP NEXT

US Surveillance Systems Potentially Compromised by Chinese Cyberattack

UP NEXT

Startling Video Shows Russian Fighter Jet Flying Within Feet of US F-16 Near Alaska

UP NEXT

Hearing on Trump Assassination Attempts Says Pennsylvania Failure Was With Secret Service

UP NEXT

Trump Listens During a Farming Event in Rural Pennsylvania, Then Threatens John Deere With Tariffs

UP NEXT

FBI Investigates Suspicious Packages Sent to Election Officials in More Than a Dozen States

UP NEXT

Florida Will Launch Criminal Probe Into Apparent Assassination Attempt of Trump, Governor Says

UP NEXT

Trump Safe After Secret Service Opens Fire at Suspect With Firearm Near His Golf Club

UP NEXT

Trump’s ‘Not Selling’ Promise Sends Trump Media Stock Soaring

Fresno Crash Sends Pickup Into Tree, Dark Tint Cited as Cause

3 hours ago

November Has Scattered Cool Temps, Rain Showers for Fresno

4 hours ago

Beyoncé Makes Grammy History With ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Leading 2025 Nominations

4 hours ago

Macklin Celebrini, NHL’s Youngest Player, Scores on Marc-Andre Fleury, League’s Oldest

4 hours ago

Ramsey, Beckham Return to SoFi Stadium When the Struggling Dolphins Visit the Streaking Rams

5 hours ago

San Francisco’s First Black Female Mayor Concedes to Levi Strauss Heir

5 hours ago

FBI Thwarts Iranian Murder-for-Hire Plan Targeting Donald Trump

5 hours ago

Israeli Soccer Fans Were Attacked in Amsterdam. The Violence Was Condemned as Antisemitic

5 hours ago

Longtime Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw Is on the Mend After 2 Surgeries

5 hours ago

USDA Bans School Lunch Fees for Low-Income Families

6 hours ago

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

Following the results of Tuesday’s election, Jada Mevs, a 25-year-old living in Washington, D.C., is encouraging women to take action by sig...

42 mins ago

Following the results of Tuesday's election, Jada Mevs, a 25-year-old from Washington, D.C., is urging women to take action by signing up for self-defense classes, deleting dating apps, getting on birth control, and investing in vibrators, as part of a growing response to the election of Donald Trump for a second term and the failure of abortion rights referendums. (Shutterstock)
42 mins ago

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

2 hours ago

Homeowners’ Effort to Leave Sierra Unified Ends With County Ed Rejection

2 hours ago

Will Terance Frazier’s Nonprofit Exit Granite Park or Fight?

3 hours ago

Fresno Crash Sends Pickup Into Tree, Dark Tint Cited as Cause

4 hours ago

November Has Scattered Cool Temps, Rain Showers for Fresno

4 hours ago

Beyoncé Makes Grammy History With ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Leading 2025 Nominations

4 hours ago

Macklin Celebrini, NHL’s Youngest Player, Scores on Marc-Andre Fleury, League’s Oldest

Rams
5 hours ago

Ramsey, Beckham Return to SoFi Stadium When the Struggling Dolphins Visit the Streaking Rams

Search

Send this to a friend