A New York resident tests positive for polio: it is the first recorded case in the US in almost a decade

By Elisha Fieldstadt -

A New York resident has tested positive for polio, the highly contagious viral disease that can cause muscle weakness, paralysis and even death, state health officials reported Thursday.

The New York State Department of Health said the person who tested positive for the disease lives in Rockland County, about 30 miles north of Manhattan.

The last known case of polio in the United States was in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Both the New York State Department of Health and the Rockland County Health Department are urging health care providers to be vigilant for additional cases.

The entities ensured that people who are not vaccinated against polio should be vaccinated and those at risk of exposure should get a booster.

“Many of you may be too young to remember polio, but growing up, this disease struck fear in families, including mine,” said County Executive Ed Day.

"The fact that it's still around decades after the vaccine was created shows how relentless it is. Do the right thing for your child and for the good of your community and get them vaccinated now."

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The type of polio the Rockland County resident has is "indicative of a chain of transmission from an individual who received the oral polio vaccine," the New York State Department of Health added.

, indicating that the virus may have originated somewhere outside the United States.

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Polio cases dropped dramatically in the 1950s and 1960s after the development of the vaccine.

It usually enters the body through the mouth "typically through hands contaminated with fecal matter from an infected person," according to the New York State Department of Health.

"Respiratory and mouth-to-mouth transmission through saliva can also occur."

Polio is highly contagious and a person can spread the virus even if they don't have symptoms, which can take up to 30 days to appear.