ISLAMABAD: For the first time in more than two years, all six environmental testing sites in Peshawar have tested negative for poliovirus, the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Polio Eradication Lab confirmed on Sunday, even as 11 other samples across the country tested positive last week.

Of 24 sewage samples tested, 13 were negative while 11 were positive for poliovirus, an official of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the NIH said.

The progress, especially in high-risk areas, was hailed as a sign of successful eradication efforts.

“Environmental Surveillance (ES) results continue to reflect encouraging progress, particularly in high-risk regions.” the official said.

“In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), positivity rates have declined from 14 positive ES sites in January to seven in June 2025.

Of these seven positive sites in June, four are from south KP. Notably, all six sites in Peshawar tested negative for the first time in over two years.”

Similar progress was reported across other provinces.

“Balochistan also reported a marked reduction, with only four positive ES sites in June, down from 19 in January. In the Quetta Block, six out of seven samples tested negative,” the official said.

“In Punjab, the number of districts with positive detections decreased from seven in January to five in June. In Sindh, the number of positive ES sites has also declined compared to previous months.”

Officials attributed the declining numbers to intensified surveillance and immunisation campaigns.

“Thanks to high-quality campaigns with rigorous vaccination schedule, polio cases and positive environmental samples nationwide have declined,” the official said.

To build on this momentum, several targeted immunisation drives are scheduled.

A special campaign will run from July 14 to 18 in Diamer and three districts of KP, targeting 158,497 children. A similar drive in Rawalpindi and Islamabad next week aims to immunise 161,422 children.

A cross-border effort with Afghanistan will take place from July 21 to 25, targeting 378,122 children in bordering union councils to synchronise with Afghanis­tan’s sub-national polio campaign.

Also, a campaign using a combination of fractional inactivated poliovirus vaccine and oral poliovirus vaccine will be conducted in seven districts of Baloc­histan from Aug 4 to 11, aiming to vaccinate approximately 600,000 children.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2025