ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed that the Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) has been detected in an environmental sample collected from a sewage line in Karachi’s Landhi area in August.
This is the first positive environmental sample from Sindh this year, according to officials of the federal ministry of national health services.
“This is Karachi’s first positive sample in 2022. The most recent Karachi positive sample was reported in May 2021. The final case of wild poliovirus was documented in June 2020. The most recent polio campaign in the district was carried out from August 15 to August 21, according to an official.
In Pakistan, there have been up to 11 confirmed cases of the poliovirus so far this month alone, bringing the year’s total number of cases to 22. Five of the 11 cases discovered in August came from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, five from Punjab, and one from Sindh.
Officials from the federal government stated that the environmental sample from the Landhi neighborhood of Karachi’s Bakhtawar Village that was determined to be positive on August 23 was taken.
