Polio virus detected in four more sewage samples in Pakistan 

Wild poliovirus Type-1 (WP1) has been detected in four more sewage samples from previously affected districts, bringing the total number of positive environmental samples to 112 this year.

According to the media report, this was confirmed by the National Institute of Health's (NIH) Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication, which said that polio was confirmed in three samples collected from different districts of Karachi and one collected from Pishin.

The samples are genetically linked to the imported YB3A cluster of wild polioviruses type-1.

According to a lab official, the virus has been detected in sewage samples of 33 districts so far this year.

He said that all the positive samples and two human cases reported this year involved the YB3A cluster, which was eliminated from the country in 2021 but was present in Afghanistan and re-entered the country through cross-border transmission last year.

It has also been stated by the lab official that the sewage water samples of the area are a key parameter to determine the success of the polio campaign, adding that the presence of the virus in the sewage also indicates that the immunity of children in the area has decreased. And the risk of getting affected by the disease has intensified in them.