9 sewage samples tested positive for polio across Pakistan

• The samples were collected in December last year.
• Karachi among the cities where the sample tested positive.
• Type 1 Wild poliomyelitis (WPV1) detected in samples.

Islamabad: Nine environmental samples (wastewater) collected from different parts of the country have tested positive for the polio virus, confirmed the regional polio eradication reference laboratory at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad.

According The newssamples were collected in December 2023 from Multan, Karachi South, Karachi Malir, Peshawar, Nowshera, Dera Ismail Khan, Quetta, Hub and Mastung and tested positive for Wild Poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) .

In Multan, the environmental sample was collected on 18 December 2023, from the Ali Town environmental sample collection site, which is the first positive sample from Multan region in 2023.

In South Karachi, the environmental sample was collected on 20 December 2023, from the Manzoor Colony environmental sample collection area, which is the sixth positive sample from the South region in 2023.

Regarding Malir Karachi, the environmental sample was collected on 19 December 2023, from the Landhi Bakhtawar environmental sampling site, which is the second positive sample from Malir district in 2023.

In Peshawar, the environmental sample was collected on 19 December 2023, from Shaheen Muslim Town environmental sample collection area, which is the 30th positive sample from Peshawar region in 2023.

The environmental sample in Nowshera was collected on 18 December 2023, from the Mill Colony environmental sample collection area, which is the second positive sample from Nowshera area in 2023.

In Dera Ismail Khan, the environmental sample was collected on 20 December 2023, from the Sherpao & Zafarabad environmental sample collection site, which is the second positive sample from the Dera Ismail Khan area in 2023.

The environmental sample in Quetta was collected on 18 December 2023, from the Surpul environmental sample collection site, which is the 9th positive sample from the Quetta area in 2023.

At the Hub, the environmental sample was collected on 18 December 2023, from the Jumma Khan Bazar environmental sample collection site, which is the third positive sample from the Hub area in 2023.

In Mastung, the environmental sample was collected on 19 December 2023, from the Adalatabad environmental sample collection site, which is the first positive sample from the Mastung area in 2023.

Virus isolates collected from all environmental samples are classified as cluster YB3A. These new detections bring the total number of positive environmental (wastewater) samples in Pakistan in 2023 to 124.