Officials: Polio found in Nassau County wastewater

Officials say the sample collected in August from Nassau County was genetically linked to the case of paralytic polio previously identified in Rockland County.

News 12 Staff

Sep 9, 2022, 9:24 PM

Updated 817 days ago

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Nassau officials say the poliovirus has been found in county wastewater, mainly in the Town of North Hempstead.   
Officials say the discovery was part of routine wastewater monitoring and the virus was found in the Manhasset, Port Washington, Glenwood Landing and Roslyn areas. Currently, there are no active cases in the county.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that she has declared a state disaster emergency due to the latest findings.
State officials say one case of paralytic polio was previously identified in Rockland County. In addition, it was detected in wastewater from Rockland County, Orange County, Sullivan County, New York City and Nassau County.
Officials say the sample collected in August from Nassau County was genetically linked to the case of paralytic polio previously identified in Rockland County, further evidence of expanding community spread.
Officials say those who are unvaccinated, including children by 2 months of age, those who are pregnant, and people who have not completed their polio vaccine series previously, should get immunized right away.
According to officials, unvaccinated New Yorkers or those not up to date with immunizations who live, work, go to school in, or visit the regions where the virus has been detected  are at the highest risk of contracting polio.  
Health officials say the only vaccine available in the United States is safe and contains no live virus. It protects 99 to 100% of people who get all recommended doses.