Poliovirus 'found' in sewage samples of eight cities

ISLAMABAD: Twelve environmental samples from eight major cities have tested positive for poliovirus, ARY News reported citing sources.

According to sources, the virus of crippling disease was found in 12 sewerage samples of eight cities of Pakistan including, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Kohat and Mastung.

The samples were taken from March 14 to 19 and tested positive for the wild polio virus, sources added.

On February 26, a week-long nationwide anti-polio drive began in the country to administer vaccine drops to children under five years of age.

Pakistan aims to vaccinate over 45.8 million children below the age of five during the second anti-polio campaign of this year.

According to details, polio workers visited door to door to vaccinate anti-polio drops to children below the age of five.

Children were also given Vitamin A supplements to boost their immunity.

It is to be noted that Pakistan has reported two polio virus cases this year so far. 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.

Polio, a highly infectious and incurable disease, mainly affects children under the age of five. The virus invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death in some cases.