Rare, locally transmitted poliovirus was detected in seven wastewater samples of Orange and Rockland counties in New York, according to an Aug. 4 press release by the New York State Department of Health.
The virus was genetically linked to a recent polio case in Rockland County, suggesting evidence of local transmission, according to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In that polio case—the only identified polio case in the country since 2013—the virus rendered an unvaccinated healthy young adult paralyzed, according to a July 21 release by Rockland County Health Department.
“Coupled with the latest wastewater findings, the department is treating the single case of polio as just the tip of the iceberg of much greater potential spread,” health commissioner Mary Bassett said….