In Pakistan, environmental samples collected from 11 different locations across all four provinces have tested positive for the poliovirus. These findings come just a day after the country reported its fourth case of a child being paralyzed by the infectious disease.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication in Islamabad confirmed the presence of Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1) in these samples, which were collected in October 2023. Four of these samples were from Peshawar, three from the Quetta Block, two from Karachi, and one each from Bannu and Lahore.
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In Balochistan, poliovirus was found in Pishin, Chaman, and Quetta. Notably, the isolated virus in Pishin is genetically linked to a virus detected in Afghanistan. In Chaman, the virus is closely related to a sample from Dera Bugti in Pakistan. In Quetta, this marked the first positive sample from the district.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, poliovirus was detected in Bannu, with a close genetic connection to a previous sample from the same district.
In Karachi, the poliovirus was found in several locations, including Keamari and Karachi Central. Similarly, in Lahore, a sample from Gulshan-e-Ravi was positive, linked genetically to a previous sample from the same district.
These new findings bring the total number of positive environmental samples in Pakistan for 2023 to 54, while there have been four human polio cases reported in the country this year.
