Poliovirus detected in Peshawar sewage again

ISLAMABAD: Wild poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples from Peshawar and Rawalpindi districts, ARY News reported on Wednesday citing NIH.

According to the Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health, the virus was found in an environmental sample collected from Shaheen Muslim Town in Peshawar and in another collected from Sarai Khola Taxila.

Type-1 wild poliovirus has been detected in environmental samples in Peshawar, said sources. The last polio case from Peshawar was reported on July 20, 2020.

Earlier in July, an environmental sample collected from Peshawar had tested positive for wild poliovirus.

According to the Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health, the virus was detected in a sewage sample collected from the Naray Khuwar site and is genetically linked to poliovirus in circulation in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Federal Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel had said the Pakis­tan Polio Eradication Programme was in close coordination with the Afghanistan Polio Eradication Programme and the two countries were working together on all levels to curb cross-border transmission.