Islamabad – June 16, 2024 Sewage samples collected from two previously infected districts and one new district of Balochistan have tested positive for wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).

According to the Regional Reference Lab for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, sewage samples collected from Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Loralai on June 3 contained WPV1.  

This year the virus has been reported in 45 districts, including two districts where only cases have been positive, not sewage samples.

The Pakistan Polio Programme is implementing an intense vaccination schedule this year to curb the spread of the virus. The Programme has already conducted five polio vaccination campaigns, including two nationwide drives and a campaign ahead of the high-travel Eid season that concluded last week and reached 17.25 million children under the age of five.

Polio is a devastating incurable disease that can leave a child paralyzed for life. The Pakistan Polio Programme urges all 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 childhood 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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