The National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad has confirmed that environmental (sewage) samples in three major Pakistani cities have tested positive for poliovirus.
The cities affected include Karachi, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi. These samples were collected in December 2023 and were found to contain the Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1).
Rising Environmental Poliovirus Samples
In Karachi East, a significant detection was made on December 13, 2023, at the Sohrab Goth environmental sample collection site. This marked the 14th positive sample in District East for the year. The previous 13 detections were made at various times throughout the year, specifically in May, September, October, November, and December.
Similarly, a positive sample in Islamabad was collected on December 12, 2023, from the Sabzi Mandi site. This was the second detection in District Islamabad in 2023, with the first occurring just a day earlier, on December 11. The virus in these samples shares a 99.6% genetic link with one found in Peshawar on December 6, 2023.
Rawalpindi’s environmental sample from the Dhok Dalal site tested positive on December 11, 2023. This instance was the fourth positive finding in District Rawalpindi during the year. Like the Islamabad samples, the Rawalpindi virus is part of the YB3A cluster and is closely related genetically to the Peshawar virus detected in early December.
