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Last Posted: Dec 30, 2022
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CDC planning wastewater testing for polio in select communities
CDC, November 30, 2022 Brand

CDC will expand wastewater testing for poliovirus in select jurisdictions across the country. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) are among the first locations to explore plans to start collecting wastewater samples in specific communities for analysis at CDC’s polio laboratory. The findings from CDC’s strategic wastewater testing effort will help jurisdictions prioritize vaccination efforts in identified communities of concern. Wastewater testing will occur in certain counties with potentially low polio vaccination coverage, or counties with possible connections to the at-risk New York communities that are linked to a single case of paralytic polio in Rockland County, New York.

Wastewater Testing and Detection of Poliovirus Type 2 Genetically Linked to Virus Isolated from a Paralytic Polio Case — New York, March 9–October 11, 2022
AB Ryerson et al, MMWR, October 29, 2022

In July 2022, a case of paralytic poliomyelitis was confirmed in an unvaccinated adult Rockland County, New York resident; environmental sampling found evidence of poliovirus transmission. Wastewater testing has identified circulating polioviruses genetically related to virus isolated from the Rockland County patient in at least five New York counties. Public health efforts to prevent polio should focus on improving coverage with inactivated polio vaccine.

United States confirmed as country with circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus
CDC, September 13, 2022 Brand

CDC today announced that polioviruses found in New York, both from the case of paralytic polio in an unvaccinated adult in Rockland County and in several wastewater samples from communities near the patient’s residence, meet the World Health Organization (WHO)’s criteria for circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) – meaning that poliovirus continues to be transmitted in Rockland County, NY, and surrounding areas.

Public Health Response to a Case of Paralytic Poliomyelitis in an Unvaccinated Person and Detection of Poliovirus in Wastewater — New York, June–August 2022
RL Gellis et al, MMWR August 16, 2022

In June 2022, poliovirus was confirmed in an unvaccinated immunocompetent adult resident of New York hospitalized with flaccid lower limb weakness. Vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was isolated from the patient and identified from wastewater samples in two neighboring New York counties. Unvaccinated persons in the United States remain at risk for paralytic poliomyelitis if they are exposed to either wild or vaccine-derived poliovirus; all persons in the United States should stay up to date on recommended poliovirus vaccination.

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Disclaimer: Articles listed in the Public Health Genomics and Precision Health Knowledge Base are selected by the CDC Office of Public Health Genomics to provide current awareness of the literature and news. Inclusion in the update does not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor does it imply endorsement of the article's methods or findings. CDC and DHHS assume no responsibility for the factual accuracy of the items presented. The selection, omission, or content of items does not imply any endorsement or other position taken by CDC or DHHS. Opinion, findings and conclusions expressed by the original authors of items included in the update, or persons quoted therein, are strictly their own and are in no way meant to represent the opinion or views of CDC or DHHS. References to publications, news sources, and non-CDC Websites are provided solely for informational purposes and do not imply endorsement by CDC or DHHS.

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