A third New York county with low vaccination coverage has detected polio virus in its wastewater, suggesting the spread of the dangerous virus is expanding, which continues to pose a significant threat to anyone unvaccinated.
Wastewater samples in Sullivan County detected polio virus twice in July and twice in August, the New York State Health Department said. Genetic sequencing found that the positive samples are linked to the case of paralytic polio reported in July by Rockland County, which was genetically linked to viruses circulating in London and Israel.
Sullivan Country joins nearby Rockland County, Orange County and New York City in detecting poliovirus in sewage. At least 13 sewer samples from Rockland and eight from Orange have tested positive since April. The three counties all lie in a northwesterly line of New York City, along the southern border of the state. Earlier this month, New York City also announced that polio virus was found in wastewater monitoring
All three counties have low polio vaccination coverage, notes the state health department. In the US, children are advised to receive three doses of inactivated polio vaccine within 24 months, which is 99 percent effective at preventing paralysis. Statewide, about 79 percent of children in New York City have received their three polio shots within 24 months. But that vaccination rate is 62 percent in Sullivan County, 59 percent in Orange County and 60 percent in Rockland County.
Those low national averages point to pockets of even lower vaccination rates. For example, health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted in a recent polio report that some Rockland County zip codes have vaccination rates as low as 37 percent. In such communities, the highly contagious polio virus can spread easily, increasing the risk of more paralyzed polio.
“One New Yorker paralyzed by polio is already too many, and I don’t want to see another paralyzed case,” said state health commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett in a statement. “Today’s polio in New York is an immediate threat to all adults and children who have not been vaccinated or are unaware of their polio vaccinations. Every New Yorker, parent, guardian and pediatrician should do everything possible to ensure ensure that they, their children, and their patients are protected from this dangerous, debilitating disease through safe and effective vaccination.”
Local, state and federal health officials have been calling for vaccinations for weeks and setting up vaccination clinics. But the number of people signing up for immunizations is far from what is needed to meet the state’s goal of “well over 90 percent” vaccinated.
