Polio found in New York City wastewater, indicating a silent spread

NEW YORK — Weeks after the nation's first polio case in nearly a decade emerged in the New York suburbs, public health officials warned Friday that it's likely in New York City too.

That's while the city is still reeling from Covid-19 and the emerging monkeypox outbreak. New York proved a petri dish for both contagions, and now polio, which is largely asymptomatic but can cause paralysis, could be silently spreading.

“For every one case of paralytic polio identified, hundreds more may be undetected,” State Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a statement. “The detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples in New York City is alarming, but not surprising. Already, the State Health Department — working with local and federal partners — is responding urgently, continuing case investigation and aggressively assessing spread.”

There are no confirmed cases in New York City. The local detection comes after a confirmed case in Rockland County and positive wastewater samples in Rockland and Orange counties. The city's positive wastewater samples were collected in June and July, though state officials said they have not been genetically linked to the case in Rockland County.

“New Yorkers should know that the latest environmental findings do not indicate that the individual identified in Rockland County was the source of the transmission, and case investigation into the origin of the virus is ongoing,” officials said.

The disease was largely eradicated in the U.S. due to successful vaccine campaigns, but it has found purchase in areas with flagging vaccination rates.

In New York City, just over 86 percent of children aged 6 months to 5 years old have received three doses of the polio vaccine, leaving another 14 percent vulnerable, according to health officials. Those rates varied significantly by borough and neighborhood. In Manhattan, vaccination rates average 91 percent — on Staten Island they're about 82 percent.

The Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn had the city's lowest rate at just over 56 percent. Meanwhile, nearby Greenpoint saw rates of over 99 percent.

Similar variance occurred across counties, though state officials calculated the rate differently, noting the percentage of 2-year-old children who had received three doses of the vaccine. In Rockland, that rate was roughly 60 percent, while in Orange County it fell to just below 59 percent — both far below the statewide average of about 79 percent and among the lowest in the state.

Health officials urged parents to vaccinate their children, and anyone who is not fully vaccinated to seek out protection against the virus.

Young children should get four doses of the vaccine, while adults and others beginning the process after the age of four should get a total of three doses, health officials said. Adults who received one or two doses in the past can receive their remaining doses now, regardless of how long it has been since the initial doses were administered.

“The risk to New Yorkers is real but the defense is so simple — get vaccinated against polio,” New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said in a statement. “With polio circulating in our communities there is simply nothing more essential than vaccinating our children to protect them from this virus, and if you’re an unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated adult, please choose now to get the vaccine.”

“Polio is entirely preventable and its reappearance should be a call to action for all of us,” Vasan said.