NEW YORK — The polio virus has been detected in New York City, health authorities said Friday, a jarring discovery arriving three weeks after the long-defeated virus reemerged in Rockland County north of the city. The potentially deadly virus was detected in sewage samples collected in the city.
Before the Rockland County case, the U.S. had gone almost a decade without logging any polio cases. But the reported arrival of the paralyzing pathogen in the five boroughs suggested local community spread.
“This is something we’re monitoring closely,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a Long Island news conference, adding that the state is working in tandem with the federal government. “This is a very, very serious disease.”
