ISLAMABAD: The number of environmental samples collected this year has reached 112. Four additional sewage samples from previously afflicted districts have shown the presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).
The National Institutes of Health’s Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication confirmed the findings, reporting that one sample from Pishin and three samples taken from other districts in Karachi tested positive.
The samples and the imported YB3A cluster of WPV1 were connected genetically.
As per the statement of a lab official, 33 areas’ sewage samples have so far this year included the virus.
“The YB3A cluster, which vanished from the nation in 2021, continued to circulate in Afghanistan, and was reintroduced through cross-border transmission last year, is present in all positive samples and the two human cases reported this year,” he stated.
Samples of local sewage water serve as a fundamental metric for assessing the effectiveness of polio campaigns. Additionally, the virus found in sewage indicates that youngsters in the area no longer have as high of an immunity and are therefore susceptible to contracting the illness,” the speaker stated.
