Poliovirus has been detected in another environmental sample taken from Balochistan’s Lasbela district, taking the number of positive samples to 173 this year. According to a report, an official of the Pakistan Anti-Polio Program said on condition of anonymity that the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad has confirmed that Type-1 wild polio virus has been found in Lasbela.
He stated that the fresh sample was taken from Jamali Muhalla, this year, the third environmental sample from Lasbela district has tested positive for the virus. The last two positive samples were taken on January 23 and April 22. The virus is classified as YB3A cluster. 99.44 percent are genetically related to the virus found in the environmental sample in Karachi East on January 11 this year.
It was added that this year 173 environmental samples from 44 districts have tested positive for polio virus.
The official of the Pakistan Anti-Polio Program further said that in 2023, 126 environmental samples from 28 districts had confirmed poliovirus, indicating that the virus was spreading in districts that were previously virus-free. If the virus is found in the sewage water, the sample is said to be positive, which is the main parameter to determine the quality of the polio campaign because it shows that many children are not being vaccinated, said the official.
