Islamabad: Environmental samples collected from 21 districts in Pakistan have tested positive for wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1), confirming the continued presence of the virus in the country.
Officials from the Regional Reference Laboratory for polio eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) stated that the virus was detected in samples taken from Muzaffarabad, Dera Bugti, Hub, Khuzdar, Nushki, Nasirabad, Usta Muhammad, Zhob, Lasbela, Islamabad, Charsadda, Peshawar, Swabi, Tank, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Jhang, Lahore, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, and Karachi East district.
Last week, environmental samples from 26 districts tested positive for WPV1. The presence of the virus in sewage samples indicates ongoing transmission in these areas, posing a risk of infection to children.
Pakistan remains one of the last two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Officials have stated that the country is actively responding to the "significant resurgence" of WPV1. In 2023, Pakistan reported 73 polio cases, with 27 cases from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 22 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security threats, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress.
The year’s first nationwide polio eradication campaign, launched earlier this week, is set to conclude on Monday.
Last month, global health experts and organizations working on polio eradication met with federal and provincial government officials in Islamabad to assess the country’s polio program.
According to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program, the three-day Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting included experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International, Gavi, and USAID.
