WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (Reuters) – The polio virus was present in suburban New York City sewage a month before health authorities announced a confirmed case of the disease last month, state health officials Monday and urged residents to ensure they have been vaccinated.

The discovery of the disease from sewage samples collected in June meant the virus was in the community before the Rockland County adult diagnosis was announced on July 21.

Laboratory tests have also confirmed that the strain in this case is genetically linked to one found in Israel, though that doesn’t mean the patient traveled there, authorities added.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a non-profit organization, said last week that initial genetic sequencing had also linked it to samples of the highly contagious and life-threatening virus in the UK.

Patients began showing symptoms in June, when local officials asked doctors to be on the lookout for possible cases, according to the New York Times.

“Given how quickly polio can spread, now is the time for all adults, parents and guardians to vaccinate themselves and their children as soon as possible,” said State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett. .

There is no cure for polio, once one of the most feared diseases due to its ability to cause permanent paralysis in some cases, but polio can be prevented with a vaccine available since 1955.

New York officials say they are opening a vaccine clinic to help unvaccinated residents get their dose. Polio is often asymptomatic, and people can spread the virus even when they don’t appear sick. However, it can produce mild flu-like symptoms that can take up to 30 days to appear, officials said.

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It can appear at any age, but most of those affected are children three years of age or younger.

Representatives from the New York department of health could not immediately be reached for further details on the findings in the sewers. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not immediately return a request for comment.

The polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk in the 1950s was heralded as a scientific breakthrough in tackling a global scourge. The United States has not seen a domestic case of polio since 1979, although cases were discovered from a traveler and an oral vaccine was discovered in 1993 and 2013.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Spanish editing by Juana Casas)