![]() In simple terms, the lab workers distill genetic material out of the wastewater sample and amplify the particular pathogen they are looking for, explained Backenson, who is an epidemiologist. Researchers who have been testing wastewater for COVID-19 use the same methods to extract genetic material known as RNA from the poliovirus. "Presence/absence is enough for us to warrant taking public health action," said Dan Lang, deputy director of the Center for Environmental Health at the Department of Health. Its presence alone raises a red flag for health officials to intensify vaccination efforts. Health officials say the seriousness of finding any sign of polio makes trying to quantify the number of potential infections through wastewater almost unnecessary. That's why they call that one confirmed case the "tip of the iceberg" for polio's spread in the area. Because most people infected with polio show no symptoms, the Rockland County man who suffered paralysis is likely one of a few hundred people in the New York metro area who had polio, health officials have said. Their only yardstick is the one case of paralytic polio diagnosed so far. But its presence in sewage samples showed it had been quietly circulating among unvaccinated people in those areas for months, most of them lucky enough not to have been stricken by the paralysis that occurs in about 1 out of 200 cases. No one else was known to have been paralyzed by the virus. The treatment plants yielding those results included county-run plants in Harriman and Orangeburg and the Middletown facility. Polio traces had been found in 21 wastewater samples taken in Orange and Rockland counties in May, June and July and in six samples from New York City from June and July, state health officials said. Then the virus turned up in Orange County wastewater, too.īy Friday, the distance and duration of polio's spread in New York had widened again. Within days, health officials disclosed that traces of the polio virus had been found in Rockland wastewater samples that were drawn in June for COVID monitoring. through routine immunizations that start in infancy. If you are uninsured, see if you qualify for 0 out-of-pocket testing options at select Quest locations. Their quest began after the alarming discovery in July that a young, unvaccinated Rockland County man suffered paralysis after catching polio, a contagious disease long eradicated from the U.S. Check to see if you are eligible for the 0 out-of-pocket COVID-19 testing program when billed to your insurance. Polio vaccinations: Mandatory shots lag at some Hudson Valley schools in state vaccination data NYC spread: Wastewater tests show polio infection path extends beyond Orange, Rockland counties Polio facts: How it spreads, typical symptoms, effectiveness of vaccines
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