Polio In NYC Sewage Linked To Paralysis, Top Doc Says

NEW YORK CITY — The polio strain that left a teenager paralyzed in suburban New York has been detected in the city's sewage, raising concerns about spread among unvaccinated New York kids, health officials said.

Wastewater samples from Brooklyn and Queens were found this week to contain traces of poliovirus genetically linked to the paralytic case in nearby Rockland County, Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said Wednesday.

“It’s certainly concerning," Vasan said. "What we now know is there is a circulating, clinically relevant poliovirus that can cause paralysis."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tests link New York City to the first detected paralytic polio case in the U.S. since 2013, the commissioner noted.

New York City's polio vaccination rate currently stands at 86.2 percent and has been increasing in recent weeks, Vasan said.

“We’re pleased to say that in communities where we identified vaccination delays we are now seeing numbers accelerate,” he said.

City kids under the age of 5 saw vaccination rates rise 9 percent since last September, Health officials said.

Vaccination rates, however, have not returned to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, according to Health department data.

Several neighborhoods are still falling behind on polio vaccinations, data shows.

• Williamsburg (11206), 56.3 percent vaccinated
• Battery Park City (10280), 58 percent vaccinated
• Bedford-Stuyvesant/Ocean Hill/Brownsville (11233), 58.4 percent vaccinated
• Bedford-Stuyvesant/Clinton Hill/Fort Greene (11205), 62.5 percent vaccinated
• East Williamsburg/Williamsburg (11211), 65.4 percent vaccinated

State and city officials since have taken steps, including declaring a state of emergency, to spread the devastating virus's spread.

Early vaccination is the most important step, Vasan said, noting the protection it provides often lasts a lifetime.