A highly infectious, life-threatening disease that was eradicated from the U.S. in 1979 was recently discovered in wastewater samples in New York. Health officials said there was a confirmed case of the poliovirus in a Rockland County, just north of New York City, The Guardian reports.
The New York State Department of Health collected a sample of the infected wastewater in June, meaning that "the virus was present in the community before the Rockland County adult's diagnosis was made public on 21 July," The Guardian added. The department said that "when samples such as these are identified, it raises concerns about the potential of community spread," Reuters notes.
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