Polio virus detected in environmental samples of Karachi, Peshawar
- By Jahangir Khan -
- Sep 07, 2023
Four environmental samples from Peshawar and Karachi have tested positive for wild poliovirus 1 (WPV1), ARY News reported on Thursday quoting health department official.
According to the Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health, the samples were collected from neighbourhood of Shaheen Muslim Town and Naray Khuwar, Peshawar and Keamari, Karachi in the month of August.
“As many as three samples were collected from Peshawar, and one sample was collected from District Karachi in the Keamari area,” an official said, requesting not to be named.
It merits mention here that as manty as 21 positive environmental samples have been reported across the country this year – including 10 from Peshawar and two from Karachi – while two children were paralyzed by wild polio.
On Sept 2, a polio virus was found for the second time in Rawalpindi district during a sewage sampling carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to an official of the District Health Authority, the polio virus was found in a sample collected from a nullah at Safdarabad near Pirwadhai.
He said the sewage sample from Safdardabad was collected on August 10 and the virus was stated to be genetically linked to YB3A cluster, which is active in Nangarhar, Afghanistan.