The National Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad confirmed that a sample of the environment from a sewer line in the Landhi district of Karachi in August contained wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).
In August, Pakistan had 11 confirmed cases of polio. This was the first positive environmental sample from Sindh this year.
So far this year, there have been 22 confirmed cases. An official from the Ministry of Health said that of the eleven cases found in August, five were in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, five were in Punjab, and one was in Sindh.
This is the first environmental sample from Karachi that has tested positive since 2022. In May of 2021, positive samples from Karachi were reported. “The last case of wild poliovirus in the district was reported in June 2020,” the official said.
Another official explained that the recent polio campaign in the district took place from August 15th to August 21st. In 2022, 13 positive environmental samples were taken from K-P. Seven of the samples came from Bannu, three from Peshawar, two from Swat, and one from Nowshera.
Seven positive samples were found in the province of Punjab. Three came from Lahore, two from Rawalpindi, and one each from Bahawalpur and Sialkot. One of the two positive samples was from Islamabad. In April, one sample was positive, two were in May, one was in June, seven were in July, and eleven were in August.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
