14 environmental samples tested positive for poliovirus

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Health on Saturday said that at least 14 environmental samples have tested positive for wild poliovirus in the country.

According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, the virus was isolated from three sewage samples.

These samples were collected between December 4 and 13 from Peshawar, two from Hyderabad, two from Karachi East, and one sample each from Karachi Central, Karachi Keamari, Karachi West, Sukkur, Quetta, Kohat and Islamabad.

The spokesperson said that only regular immunization can protect children from poliovirus, urging parents to administer anti-polio drops to their children during every polio vaccination campaign.

Earlier on Jan 2, the Health Ministry confirmed presence of the polio virus in environmental samples from four districts of the country – Karachi Kemari, Hyderabad, Chaman, and Peshawar.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan has the most extensive and sensitive polio surveillance system in the world. He added that polio surveillance systems lead to rapid virus confirmation.

Last year, Islamabad reported six polio cases as Pakistan and Afghanistan remained the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.

In Dec 2023, a nine-month-old child in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Orakzai district became the latest victim of the crippling disease. The Ministry of Health confirmed that the polio virus was found in a 9-month-old child in Orakzai district.