Pakistan: Poliovirus found in sewage of seven major cities

ISLAMABAD: Health sources have confirmed presence of poliovirus in sewage samples collected from seven major cities of Pakistan, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

According to sources, poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples, collected for testing from four Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cities, Peshawar, Bannu, Nowshera, and Swat. Poliovirus strain WPV-1 also detected in sewage samples of Rawalpindi, Lahore and capital city of Islamabad, sources said.

These sewage samples were collected last month from drains, sources said. “Poliovirus has been detected in 11 Pakistani cities in year 2022,” sources said.

Poliovirus detected in sewage collected from Hanjal Noorbad in Bannu, Islamabad’s vegetable market, sources said. Polio virus was last time detected in Islamabad in year 2018.

“Moreover, polio virus detected in sewage collected from Multan Road in Lahore, Shaheen Muslim Town Peshawar, Mill Colony Nowshera, Saidu Sharif in Swat and Safdarabad of Rawalpindi,” sources said.

The strain of wild polio virus found in seven cities has been genetically linked with Bannu, sources said.

Federal officials have reported 13 confirmed cases of polio in North Waziristan and one in Laki Marwat this year.