After a case of polio was confirmed in New York and a wastewater surveillance program was launched there, Boston health officials say they are looking into possibly launching the same initiative.
The Boston Public Health Commission told The Boston Herald that it's "exploring options" to monitor wastewater for polio, but it would first need permission to be granted through the CDC.
Wastewater monitoring has been used throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to gage community transmission and virus levels in a given area.
In New York, health officials began a wastewater surveillance program to monitor polio, after a case of paralytic polio in an unvaccinated person in Rockland County. Sequencing by the CDC showed polio in 31 positive samples of concern, according to the Herald.
The Boston Herald asked the Massachusetts Department of Health about polio wastewater monitoring, and the agency said that COVID-19 is the only pathogen currently being tested for in wastewater.
