Rockland Polio Strain Matches Virus Samples In London, Jerusalem

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — The polio case in Rockland is genetically linked to virus found in wastewater in Jerusalem and London, according to the Global Polio Laboratory Network.

"New Yorkers should know that this does not imply that the individual case identified in New York has travel history to Israel or the UK," state health officials said, adding that they are continuing an "aggressive" investigation and assessment of the case.

The patient, a young unvaccinated adult, was infected about a month ago and has been left paralyzed.

Officials confirmed that the polio virus found in June samples of wastewater from Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 — which serves large portions of Ramapo and Clarkstown and some parcels of Orangetown — matched samples from Israel and the United Kingdom. They said the case in New York is genetically linked to a type of oral polio vaccine containing live virus.

Live-virus vaccines haven't been given in the USA since 2000.

State, global, national, and local public health authorities — including the Rockland County Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene — are making sure prevention measures, particularly vaccination clinics, are in place.

"The best way to keep New York polio-free is to maintain high immunity across the population through vaccination," they said.

Polio spreads mostly from person to person or through contaminated water. It can infect a person's spinal cord, causing paralysis and possibly permanent disability and death. It is very contagious, and a person can transmit the virus even if they aren't sick. Symptoms, which can be mild and flu-like, can take up to 30 days to appear, during which time an infected individual can be shedding virus to others.

Even children who seem to fully recover can develop new muscle pain, weakness, or paralysis as adults 15 to 40 years later. This is called post-polio syndrome.

There is no treatment or cure. However, it is preventable through vaccination.

Polio was once one of the most feared diseases in the United States, with annual outbreaks causing thousands of cases of paralysis. The disease mostly affects children, though one of its most victims was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Vaccines became available starting in 1955, and a national vaccination campaign cut the annual number of U.S. cases to less than 100 in the 1960s and fewer than 10 in the 1970s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The polio vaccine is a core component of CDC's standard child immunization schedule and required by New York state for all school-aged children. According to CDC, inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), which is the only polio vaccine that has been given in the United States since 2000, protects 99 percent of children who get all the recommended doses.

A multi-year global health campaign, assisted by volunteers and funding from Rotary International, has since ended routine spread almost everywhere, though polio is still endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, numerous countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where vaccination rates are lower, have also reported cases in recent years.

Rarely, travelers have brought polio infections into the U.S. The last such case was in 2013, when a 7-month-old who had recently moved to the U.S. from India was diagnosed in San Antonio, Texas, according to federal health officials. That child also had the type of polio found in the live form of vaccine used in other countries.

All New Yorkers who are unvaccinated, including children 2 months and older, those who are pregnant, and people who have not completed their polio vaccine series previously, should get vaccinated right away.

Unvaccinated New Yorkers who live, work, go to school in, or visit Rockland County are at the highest risk of exposure, they said. Rockland County currently has a polio vaccination rate of 60.5 percent among 2-year-olds compared to the statewide average of 79.1 percent.

New Yorkers can learn more about polio and the polio vaccine at health.ny.gov/polio.

"Polio is a dangerous disease with potentially devastating consequences," State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said in a news release. "In the United States, we are so fortunate to have available the crucial protection offered through polio vaccination, which has safeguarded our country and New Yorkers for over 60 years. Given how quickly polio can spread, now is the time for every adult, parent, and guardian to get themselves and their children vaccinated as soon as possible."