Poliovirus Detected In Lahore Sewage Again

News Desk

Lahore: The polio virus has been confirmed in environmental samples collected from the Multan Road area Lahore which is the fourth case of wild poliovirus in Lahore this year, according to health officials.

Out of the 4 samples collected from Lahore, 3 are linked to the virus found in Afghanistan.

The polio virus was confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Reference Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Health Ministry Official said that if the poliovirus is found in sewage water, the sample is said to be “positive”.

Official further stated that sewage samples are a basic parameter to determine the success of the polio campaign. Apart from this, the presence of the virus in the sewage also shows that the immunity of the children in the area has decreased and they are at risk of contracting the disease, he added.

Before this, a case of poliovirus was last reported in the city in July 2020. Meanwhile, a polio vaccination campaign is underway in Lahore and will end on September 10.

Federal Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan stated, “Looking at the situation today, we are testing twice as many samples as compared to last year; this shows that our system is strong and capable of detecting the virus.”

Health Department Official informed that the Pakistan Polio Program is already testing for poliovirus at 114 specific environmental sites every month.

Additional sewage samples are being collected from several locations periodically to improve monitoring in high-risk areas. We are also testing environmental samples collected from Afghanistan and Yemen, health official added.

The polio laboratory tested more than 1,700 samples in 2023, of which 22 (about one per cent) of cases of wild poliovirus were reported positive.

The news of the presence of the polio virus in Lahore came to light when four environmental samples collected earlier from Karachi and Peshawar also tested positive for the virus.

Two children have contracted polio so far in 2023; both cases were reported from Bannu, one of the seven districts in South Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where polio is still present.

Federal Health Secretary Iftikhar Shalwani remarked that the first priority of the ministry is to eradicate this infectious disease. Every child deserves a life free from the risk of polio, and we will continue to strive to make it a reality, he added.