Four wastewater samples were collected in Sullivan County, northwest of Orange County, in July and August. CNN previously reported that polio was detected in samples of wastewater from Rockland County, Orange County and New York City. The State Department of Health announced Friday that a Sullivan County sample was genetically linked to a previously confirmed polio case in Rockland County, where a man was diagnosed with paralytic polio.
Health officials warned on Friday of a growing community spread of the virus.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said in a statement, “There are already too many New Yorkers paralyzed by polio. I don’t want to see another paralyzed patient.” It is an imminent threat to all adults and children who have not been vaccinated against polio, and every New Yorker, parent, guardian, and pediatrician must ensure that they, their children, have a safe and effective vaccine. Vaccination protects patients from this dangerous and debilitating disease.”
Polio can cause incurable paralysis and death, but most people in the United States are protected by vaccination. As of August 1, Rockland County polio vaccination coverage was 60.34%. Orange County has him at 58.68% and Sullivan County at 62.33%. New York statewide polio immunization coverage averages 78.96% of children who have received her three polio immunizations by their second birthday.
State health departments, working with local health officials and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, began monitoring wastewater after a young adult was diagnosed with polio in Rockland County in June.
So far, the state has only identified one case of polio. However, many polio patients are asymptomatic and can spread the virus without symptoms.
Earlier this month, Dr. Jose Romero, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the confirmed cases of polio in New York were “just the tip of the iceberg,” adding that “hundreds of patients There must be,” he pointed out. Cases in the community are circulating. “
