NEW YORK, July 21 (CNA) - The United States on Thursday (Jul 21) reported its first case of polio in almost a decade.

New York state's health department said a person living in Rockland County, 48km north of Manhattan, had tested positive for the disease.

America last recorded a polio case in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The latest case was a type "indicative of a transmission chain from an individual who received the oral polio vaccine (OPV)", officials said. The oral vaccine was discontinued in the United States in 2000.

"This suggests that the virus may have originated in a location outside of the US where OPV is administered, since revertant strains cannot emerge from inactivated vaccines," New York's health department said in a statement.

Officials warned healthcare providers to be on the lookout for more cases and urged people in the area who are not vaccinated to get the shot.

In a statement on Thursday, Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said the case is a young adult who had not travelled outside of the US. The symptoms began about a month ago, and the patient did present with weakness and paralysis, she added.

"We are now surveying the family and close contacts of this individual to assess the risk to the community," she added.

The health commissioner said the county's Department of Health is working with the local healthcare system and community leaders to notify the public and make polio vaccination available.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and working with the New York State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to respond to this emergent public health issue to protect the health and wellbeing of county residents," said Dr Ruppert.