‘Alarming but not surprising’: Poliovirus detected in NYC sewage
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Health officials announced Friday that poliovirus has been detected in six wastewater samples collected in New York City since June, suggesting that it is circulating locally.
New York State Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH, called the finding “alarming, but not surprising,” suggesting officials believed the virus might show up in the nation’s largest city after being detected in sewage in two counties to the north in recent weeks.
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The samples have not, however, been genetically linked to the 20 positive samples collected so far in Rockland and Orange counties — which CDC testing confirmed were genetically linked.
The virus detected in those two counties is a vaccine strain, Sabin type 2, that is responsible for almost 90% of vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks globally. According to the state health department, the positive samples collected in New York City — two in June and four in July — came back as either a vaccine-derived poliovirus or variants of Sabin type 2.
One case has been identified so far, in a Rockland County resident who was left paralyzed — the first case of polio recorded in the United States since 2013. The state health department said previously that the case was not the source of the transmission in the two counties and that an investigation into the origin of the virus is ongoing.
Oral polio vaccines contain live but weakened strains of virus. The finding that these positive samples are vaccine strains indicates that transmission originated from someone who received an oral polio vaccine. The U.S. has administered only inactivated polio vaccine shots since 2000.
Bassett, for the second time in 8 days, noted that every reported case of paralytic polio means potentially hundreds of others could be infected.
“The best way to keep adults and children polio-free is through safe and effective immunization — New Yorkers’ greatest protection against the worst outcomes of polio, including permanent paralysis and even death,” Bassett said in a press release.
The CDC recommends that children receive four doses of polio vaccine by age 6 years — the first at age 2 months, the second at age 4 months, the third at age 6 through 18 months and the final dose at age 4 through 6 years.
According to state health officials, only around 60% of children younger than age 2 years in Rockland and Orange counties have received three polio vaccine doses. The vaccination rate is higher in New York City, where 86.2% of children between ages 6 months and 5 years have received three doses, although that still leaves nearly 14% unprotected, the city health department warned.
The state health department provided a link where people can learn more about getting vaccinated. Other details, including information about children who can receive low-cost or free vaccines, are available in the city health department’s press release.
The Sabin type 2 vaccine strain was removed from routine use in 2016 following the eradication of type 2 poliovirus in the wild. Since then, a monovalent type 2 poliovirus vaccine has been used to respond to vaccine-derived outbreaks.
The U.S. has not reported a wild case of polio since 1979, according to the CDC. In fact, the wild form of the disease has been nearly eradicated globally, with cases now occurring only in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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