NEW YORK: Health officials identified the virus that causes polio in New York City’s wastewater, suggesting local transmission of the virus, state authorities said on Friday, urging unvaccinated New Yorkers to get vaccinated.

“The NYC Heath Depa­rtment and the New York State Department of Health have identified poliovirus in sewage in NYC, suggesting local transmission of the virus,” the city’s health dep­ar­tment said in a statement on Friday. “Polio can lead to paralysis and even death. We urge unvaccinated New Yor­kers to get vaccinated now.”

The identification comes weeks after a case of polio in an adult was made public on July 21 in Rockland, marking the nation’s first confirmed case in 10 years.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2022