Health officials noted that “for every one case of paralytic polio observed, there may be hundreds of other people infected.”
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York declared a state disaster emergency Friday after poliovirus was detected in wastewater samples from Long Island, signaling growing community spread of the virus which can cause paralytic disease.
Key context: Gov. Kathy Hochul issued the executive order, which increases resources available for the state to combat viral spread, after a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sequence analysis found polio in a wastewater sample collected in August from Nassau County.
The sample was genetically linked to the case of paralytic polio identified in Rockland County just north of New York City earlier this summer — the first in the nation in nearly a decade.
The virus has also been detected in wastewater samples from neigboring Orange and Sullivan counties, as well as those from New York City. All of the reported samples include types of poliovirus that can cause paralysis, according to the state Department of Health.
Health officials noted that “for every one case of paralytic polio observed, there may be hundreds of other people infected,” but the state has so far only confirmed one case.
New York declares ‘state of emergency’ as polio continues to spread
The virus has also been detected in wastewater samples from neigboring Orange and Sullivan counties, as well as those from New York City. All of the reported samples include types of poliovirus that can cause paralysis, according to the state Department of Health.