New York City Health Department has identified polio virus in sewage in the city, the department announced Friday.
The wastewater findings suggest the virus is spreading locally in the city, health officials said.
The statement adds that polio can lead to paralysis and death. The NYC Health Department urged those living in the city to get vaccinated against the virus now if they haven't already.
"With polio circulating in our communities there is simply nothing more essential than vaccinating our children to protect them from this virus, and if you're an unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated adult, please choose now to get the vaccine," NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in the statement.
"Polio is entirely preventable and its reappearance should be a call to action for all of us."
The findings come days after polio was first detected in a nearby New York county with high rates of vaccine refusal, marking the first case of polio in the US since 2013.
—nychealthy (@nycHealthy) August 12, 2022
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