New York state health commissioner warns 'hundreds' more may be infected with polio
A polio case in Rockland County, New York, may be the "tip of the iceberg," the State Health Commissioner warned.
A polio case in Rockland County, New York, may be the "tip of the iceberg," state Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett warned Thursday, after officials said wastewater samples had detected the virus in an adjacent county.
Urging unvaccinated residents to get immunized against the virus, Bassett said there was the potential for "much greater" community spread.
“Based on earlier polio outbreaks, New Yorkers should know that for every one case of paralytic polio observed, there may be hundreds of other people infected,” she said in a statement.
Last month's case of polio in Rockland County, north of New York City, was the first in the United States in nearly a decade. Polio was detected in the county's wastewater before the patient’s case was confirmed, officials have said.
This 2014 illustration made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention depicts a polio virus particle.Sarah Poser, Meredith Boyter Newlove / CDC via APOn Thursday, officials revealed that the virus had also been detected in wastewater samples in Orange County. The samples were taken in June and July from two "geographically different" locations in Orange County, they said.
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