The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will strategically expand wastewater testing for poliovirus in select jurisdictions across the country. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) are among the first locations to explore plans to start collecting wastewater samples in specific communities for analysis at CDC’s polio laboratory. Preliminary discussions with select other state and local health departments are underway.
The findings from CDC’s strategic wastewater testing effort will help jurisdictions prioritize vaccination efforts in identified communities of concern. Wastewater testing will occur in certain counties with potentially low polio vaccination coverage, or counties with possible connections to the at-risk New York communities that are linked to a single case of paralytic polio in Rockland County, New York. Once initiated, testing will last at least four months. MDHHS and PDPH are collaborating with CDC to identify communities that are under-vaccinated for poliovirus and have wastewater sampling locations.
It’s important to note that wastewater testing for poliovirus is different from that for other pathogens such as COVID-19. Poliovirus wastewater testing is not routinely or broadly recommended, and there are strict laboratory safety requirements. However, the strategic use of wastewater testing in a limited number of at-risk communities can help determine if poliovirus is present in other parts of the United States and can be used to target vaccination efforts to rapidly improve local polio vaccination coverage if needed. Over the next few months, CDC will assist the selected jurisdictions in testing wastewater and will support them in responding to positive wastewater detections and improving vaccination rates if requested.