Polio detected in Karachi sewage sample

As many as 11 positive cases of polio reported in August alone

KARACHI:

The wild poliovirus type-1 (WPV1) was detected in an environmental sample collected from a sewage line in Karachi's Landhi area in August, the National Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad has confirmed.

Officials of the Ministry of National Health Services have said that this was the first positive environmental sample from Sindh this year, adding that as many as 11 positive cases of polio virus have been reported in Pakistan during August alone.

“The total number of cases reported so far this year is 22. Of the 11 cases detected in August, 5 each were from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, while Sindh reported 1 case,” a ministry official said.

“This is the first positive environmental sample from Karachi in 2022. The previous positive sample from Karachi was reported in May 2021. The last wild poliovirus case from the district was reported in June 2020,” the official added.

The recent polio campaign in the district was conducted from August 15 till 21,” explained another official. “Thirteen positive environmental samples in 2022 have been collected from K-P, including 7 from Bannu, 3 from Peshawar, 2 from Swat and 1 from Nowshera.”

The 7 positive samples collected from Punjab, included 3 from Lahore, 2 from Rawalpindi, and 1 each from Bahawalpur and Sialkot. One positive sample was collected from Islamabad. Of the 22 positive samples, 1 was collected in April, 2 in May, 1 in June, 7 in July, and 11 in August.