ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Health has confirmed the presence of poliovirus in sewage samples collected from the Lasbela district of Balochistan.
The samples revealed the presence of Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1), with genome sequencing indicating its origin in Gadap Karachi. This announcement comes after previous detections of the virus in environmental samples from nine districts across the country, including Quetta, Mastung, Multan, Peshawar, Nowshera, Hub, Karachi Malir, Karachi South, and Dera Ismail Khan.
Notably, Pakistan reported its sixth polio case of 2023 in December, involving a nine-month-old child in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Orakzai district.
Polio, a highly infectious and incurable disease, primarily affects young children and can lead to paralysis or death. The Ministry of Health’s ongoing efforts aim to combat the spread of poliovirus and safeguard public health across the nation.
