Poliovirus in wastewater samples from 18 Pakistani districts

The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) has reported that environmental samples collected from 18 districts in Pakistan have tested positive for wild poliovirus type 1. Of the total of 38 environmental samples of wastewater collected from 31 districts between April 7 and 17, poliovirus was confirmed in wastewater samples from Loralai, Quetta, Zhob, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Bannu, DI Khan, Peshawar, Tank, North Waziristan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Badin, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Kashmir, Karachi and Sukkur. The subsequent nationwide vaccination programme is scheduled to take place from 26 May to 1 June, with a target of immunising 45.4 million children under five years of age across the country. Health officials are urging parents to vaccinate their children against polio to protect their offspring’s health and reduce the spread of the disease in the community. According to health officials, the vaccination campaign, which was conducted over one week and concluded in Rawalpindi district on 27 April, resulted in the vaccination of more than 800,000 children. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Notwithstanding the global efforts to eradicate the virus, security concerns, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have impeded progress.