The polio virus was discovered in a sewage sample from a suburb of New York State last month, with the first polio case in 10 years in the United States last month.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Sunday (local time) that the polio virus was detected in samples collected in June in Rockland County, New York.
This means that the virus may have spread to the community a month before the first case of polio virus infection on July 21 was released.
However, the CDC said no additional cases of infection have been reported so far, and it is unclear whether the virus has spread to other parts of the United States, including New York.
Polio, which penetrates the nervous system and rapidly paralyzes it, is known as a highly contagious viral disease.
Earlier, on the 21st of last month, New York State health officials disclosed that a man in his 20s living in Rockland County had contracted polio.
The man had not been vaccinated and was hospitalized in June following traveling to Poland and Hungary this year. At the time of diagnosis, it was predicted that the male might have acute flaccid myelitis, but following further testing, he was diagnosed with polio.
Tests by health authorities have confirmed that the man’s virus is genetically linked to a mutant virus found in Israel.
The CDC said it was also related to the polio virus, which was found in the UK following sequencing the gene. Earlier in June, the UK Health and Safety Agency announced that the polio virus had been detected in sewage samples. However, there have been no reported cases of polio in the UK.
New York State health officials plan to set up vaccine clinics so residents can get vaccinated quickly.
(Seoul = News 1)
