Rockland County Wastewater Given Clean Bill of Health - Tests Negative for Polio

by M.C. Millman

For the first time since polio was detected in Rockland County in July, batches of recent wastewater testing in downstate counties showed no polio. 

Although it takes a minimum of twelve months for a county to be removed from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative's list of locations with circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus detections, this is a step in the right direction. This is especially true considering the single individual who contracted polio in July was the only person found to have had the virus. 

Counties where polio was detected in wastewater after the July scare included Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, Nassau and parts of New York City.