ISLAMABAD: An environmental sample from Rawalpindi has been tested positive for wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).

According to the Pakis­tan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH), the virus was found in an environmental sample collected from Safdarabad site. The lab is also the World Heal­­th Organisation’s regional reference laboratory for the polio programme.

According to an official at the NIH, it was the second positive sample from Rawalpindi this year and the isolated virus was gen­etically linked to the virus cluster circulating in Nan­garhar province of neighbouring Afghanistan.

“If polio virus is found in sewage, the sample is called ‘positive’. Samples of sewage from the area are a basic parameter to determine the success of polio campaigns. More­over, the presence of virus in sewage also shows that the immunity level of children in the area has fallen and they are at risk of catching the disease,” he said.

Federal Health Minis­ter Dr Nadeem Jan mentioned that a comprehensive strategy had been devised to eradicate polio, with a particular focus on high-risk regions. An emergency plan had been created to halt the virus’s propagation, and his primary commitment remai­ned directed towards eli­minating the polio virus, he said.

A polio campaign was held in 65 districts of the country this month, inclu­ding Rawalpindi from Aug 7 to 13, to vaccinate more than eight million children under five.

Pakistan has reported two polio cases and 16 positive environmental samples so far this year, while Afghanistan has reported five cases and 33 positive samples.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2023