Boston public well being officers are “exploring options” to observe for polio after a case of the life-threatening illness was confirmed in New York and wastewater surveillance detected poliovirus in 31 optimistic samples.
The wastewater findings in New York revealed that the unvaccinated Rockland County resident with paralytic polio contracted the virus by native transmission, sparking issues in regards to the potential for neighborhood unfold of poliovirus.
Following stories of wastewater monitoring for polio in New York, the Herald requested the Boston Public Health Commission if BPHC was conducting wastewater monitoring for polio.
“Permission to monitor local wastewater for polio is granted through the CDC, and while the BPHC is not monitoring for polio at this time, we are exploring options to do so,” a BPHC spokesperson mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday.
When requested about wastewater monitoring for polio on the state degree, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health mentioned in an announcement, “At this time, SARS-CoV-2 is the only pathogen being tested in wastewater in the Commonwealth.”
Throughout the pandemic, well being officers have been monitoring wastewater for COVID — which has been an early signal of virus waves and optimistic an infection ranges on the neighborhood degree.
Following the identification of polio amongst a Rockland County resident final month, New York well being officers launched wastewater surveillance to test for indicators of the virus. As of Tuesday, sequencing evaluation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed poliovirus in a complete of 31 optimistic samples of concern. Of these 31 samples, 24 samples had been genetically linked to the person case of paralytic polio.
“This is an urgent plea: Anyone who is not fully immunized against polio, and especially children, should get vaccinated now,” well being officers wrote to Rockland County residents final week. “The polio vaccine is safe and has been used for more than 60 years.”
“One case of paralytic polio is already too many,” they later added. “The New York State Department of Health and CDC are working tirelessly to stop polio from harming New York communities further, but we cannot do this without the support of community leaders. Together, we must urge immunization — the safe protection against paralytic disease that every adult and child needs.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”