Islamabad – May 21, 2024 Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in sewage samples of two previously infected districts of Balochistan and one district of Sindh.

The Regional Reference Lab for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has notified that sewage samples collected between May 6 and 7 from Quetta, Chaman and Hyderabad contained WPV1.  

These positive samples contained virus which is genetically linked to the imported YB3A genetic cluster of WPV1. This cluster disappeared from Pakistan in 2021, remained in circulation in Afghanistan and was reintroduced through cross-border transmission last year. All positive samples and two polio cases reported this year are linked to this virus.

So far this year, WPV1 has been found in 38 districts.

The Pakistan Polio Programme has conducted four polio vaccination campaigns this year, including two nationwide campaigns that reached over 43 million children under the age of five with the oral polio vaccine in January and February. The next campaign is planned in the first week of June, ahead of the high travel season of Eid.

Polio is a devastating incurable disease. The Polio Programme urges parents and caregivers to ensure that their children are vaccinated against it at every opportunity and have completed all routine vaccinations to protect them from 12 vaccine-preventable diseases.  

Note:

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus mainly affecting children under the age of five years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Each time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased. Repeated immunisations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become polio-free, except for the two endemic countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

For further information, please contact: Ms Hania Naeem, Communications Officer, NEOC,

Contact No:+923431101988

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