The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on immunization has shown concerns over the continuous emergence of polio-positive environmental samples in the country.
For the layman, this means that an increasing number of poliovirus samples were detected across several districts in Pakistan.
The news comes as National Polio Laboratory (NPL) at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad detected Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1) in two environmental samples last month.
Where The Samples Came From
NIH officials said that the new polio-positive samples were collected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) districts of Bannu and Swat, making it the ninth sample from the former and fifth from the latter this year. In total, 21 positive environmental samples have been detected in the province, including five from Peshawar, and one each from Nowshera and South Waziristan.
In addition, eight polio-positive samples have been obtained from Punjab, which includes three each from Lahore and Rawalpindi, and one each from Bahawalpur and Sialkot. Besides, one each has also been detected from Karachi and Islamabad.
Speaking about the Bannu’s sample, an NIH official said that it was taken from Sokari Jabbar Chowk Tributary in Bannu on 27 September and added that the recent polio campaign in the district was undertaken between 22 and 25 September, while the next one will begin on 24 October.
According to the officials, Swat’s samples were collected from the Sharifabad tributary on the same date and a previous positive sample of Swat was detected in the Saidu Sharif area on 20 September.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan recorded around 65 polio-positive environmental samples in 2021.
