Polio virus found in New York City wastewater, suggesting local transmission

Health officials identified the virusthat causes polio in New York City's wastewater, suggestinglocal transmission of the virus, state authorities said onFriday, urging unvaccinated New Yorkers to get vaccinated.

"The NYC Heath Department and the New York State Departmentof Health have identified poliovirus in sewage in NYC,
suggesting local transmission of the virus," the city's healthdepartment said in a statement on Friday.

"Polio can lead to paralysis and even death. We urgeunvaccinated New Yorkers to get vaccinated now."

The identification comes weeks after a case of polio in anadult was made public on July 21 in Rockland County, marking thenation's first confirmed case in nearly 10 years.

Earlier this month, health officials said the virus wasfound in wastewater in the New York City suburb a month beforehealth officials there announced the Rockland County case.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)said at the time that it was not clear whether the virus wasactively spreading in New York or elsewhere in the UnitedStates.

Evidence of virus in London

There is no cure for polio, which can cause irreversibleparalysis in some cases, but it can be prevented by a vaccinemade available in 1955.

New York officials have said they are opening vaccineclinics to help unvaccinated residents get their shots.

Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) is the only polio vaccine thathas been given in the United States since 2000, according to theCDC. It is given by shot in the leg or arm, depending on thepatient's age.

On Wednesday, British health authorities announced they will offer a polio booster dose to children aged one to nine in London, after finding evidence the virus has been spreading in multiple regions of the capital. Britain's Health Security Agency said polio virus samples were found in sewage water from eight boroughs of London, but there were no confirmed infections.

Polio is often asymptomatic and people can transmit thevirus even when they do not appear sick. But it can produce
mild, flu-like symptoms that can take as long as 30 days toappear, officials said.

It can strike at any age but the majority of those affectedare children aged three and younger.