ISLAMABAD: The presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was detected in nine sewage samples that were gathered from six districts.
As to the findings of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Quetta, Chaman, Peshawar, Karachi South, Karachi Korangi, and Mastung in Balochistan were the locations where WPV1 was detected in two out of the six sewage samples.
The tests were taken between February 21 and February 27, and as of right now in 2024, 65 positive environmental samples have been taken.
Two nationwide polio vaccination campaigns were held in January and February, covering all six districts of detection and immunizing nearly 40 million children; a third campaign is scheduled for April.
The YB3A virus cluster, which vanished from Pakistan in 2021 and was reintroduced by cross-border transmission in January 2023, is present in all positive environmental samples. Since 2023, this virus has been found in over 150 sewage samples and five cases throughout more than 20 districts, according to a health ministry official.
In a statement, Federal Secretary for Health Iftikhar Ali Shallwani stated that the poliovirus posed a continuous risk to children worldwide.
“As they would not be able to fight off a polio infection, children with low immunity due to malnutrition, underlying diseases, or not vaccinated or under-vaccinated for childhood diseases and polio are at particular risk of contracting polio,” the official stated.
