ISLAMABAD: The National Polio Testing Laboratory has released a report confirming the presence of poliovirus in sewage samples from five districts.
According to local media reports, virus was detected in samples from Karachi, Quetta, and Kohat. This year, 153 sewage samples from 39 districts have tested positive for poliovirus.
Polio testing was conducted from May 9 to May 15 in the five districts. In Karachi East, samples from Rashid Minhas Road and Machhar Colony tested positive for the virus. Sources revealed that 19 sewage samples from Karachi East and five from Karachi Central have tested positive this year. The poliovirus in Karachi’s sewage is genetically linked to a local strain.
In Quetta’s Tausabad area, a sewage sample tested positive, contributing to a total of 19 positive samples in Quetta this year. The poliovirus in Quetta is genetically linked to the Chamman strain.
Kohat’s Faqirabad area also had a positive sewage sample, marking the fourth detection in Kohat this year. The poliovirus here is genetically linked to the Peshawar strain.
Additionally, the third polio case of 2024 in Pakistan was reported in Kila Abdullah, Balochistan, where a young girl showed symptoms of paralysis on April 20. The health ministry stated that genetic testing of her samples is still ongoing. All three reported cases this year have been from Balochistan.
