Poliovirus found in Karachi, Hangu sewage samples

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Polio Laboratory has confirmed the detection of Wild Poliovirus Type-1 in the sewage samples collected from Hangu and Karachi, said an official of the Polio Eradication Initiative.

The official said one of the environmental samples in Hangu was collected on September 06 from the neighbourhood of Civil Hospital.

The isolated virus was classified as YB3A cluster and 99.2 percent genetically linked to the virus detected in an environmental sample of Safdarabad, Rawalpindi on August 10, the official added.

The recent polio vaccination campaign in district Hangu was conducted in the second week of August while the next campaign in the district will be held in the first week of October, the official maintained.

The other sewage sample turned out to be positive was collected from Jani Chowk tributary on September 06. The isolated virus was classified as YB3A cluster and 99.5 percent genetically linked to the virus detected from the same environmental sample on May 09.

Similarly, the sewage sample in Karachi was collected on September 05 from the Orangi Nala environmental site at Keamari Karachi.

It was the first positive sample from this particular site and the second positive sample from district Keamari this year.

The last positive sample from the district was collected on August 17, 2023 from the neighbourhood of Muhammad Khan Colony. The recently detected virus was classified as YB3A cluster and 99.89 percent genetically linked to the virus detected earlier.

The recent polio vaccination campaign in the district was conducted in the second week of August while the next campaign in the district will be conducted in the first week of October.

These new detections take the tally of positive environmental samples in Pakistan in the current year to 27.