Ulster County wastewater testing for polio is negative

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KINGSTON – The State Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control, at the request of the Ulster County Department of Health, tested two weeks of sample wastewater taken from Kingston and New Paltz, and the results were negative for poliovirus.

Poliovirus testing will now continue to be a regular part of wastewater surveillance in Kingston and New Paltz.

“Polio is preventable through safe and effective vaccination, and I strongly encourage all residents who are not vaccinated for polio to call their doctor and get vaccinated without delay,” said Acting Ulster County Executive Johanna Contreras.

“Polio is a highly contagious disease that was thought to have been controlled through the administration of a very safe, effective and proven vaccine. This is why the polio vaccine has been mandatory for all students attending public schools in New York State, for decades. The recent polio case that was diagnosed in New York State occurred in an unvaccinated person. In general, communicable disease outbreaks occur in those locations that have below average child vaccination rates,” said County Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith. “While the polio testing results for Ulster County are negative, it doesn’t mean that our community is immune from polio in the long term. Getting all of your children vaccinated is the best and only way to protect them from this serious disease.”

She urged every person to check with their physician’s office, to make sure that everyone in the family is up to date with polio, and all other essential vaccinations.”

In New York State, wastewater is now being tested for the presence of the virus that causes polio. This is done by collecting wastewater samples from community wastewater treatment plants and sending them to laboratories to measure the amount of the virus in the sample. This method ensures individual privacy and anonymity because samples cannot be traced back to any individual or household. Positive results for polio detected in the wastewater only indicate that the virus is present in the community and does not indicate how many people are actually infected with the virus.

Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order on September 9 declaring a state disaster emergency due to evidence of circulating poliovirus. The State Department of Health advises all New Yorkers who are unvaccinated, including children by two months of age, those who are pregnant, and people who have not completed their polio vaccine series previously to get immunized right away. Unvaccinated New Yorkers or those not up to date with immunizations who live, work, go to school in, or visit Rockland County, Orange County, Sullivan County, New York City, and Nassau County are at the highest risk of contracting the paralytic disease, according to the state. There is low risk to those who are fully vaccinated.

New Yorkers can learn more about polio and polio immunization here. Information about wastewater surveillance and results is available here.




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