ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health on Saturday confirmed the detection of wild poliovirus in an environmental sample from the district of Lower South Waziristan of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
According to the lab, wild poliovirus type 1 was isolated from a sewage sample collected from Qureshi Mohalla in the district’s Wacha Khaura Union council on 19 April. The virus is genetically linked to poliovirus found in sewage samples collected from the same district in September 2022.
Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel said that the detection of poliovirus in the environment is an indication that Pakistan’s polio surveillance system is working efficiently to locate virus circulation and take steps to prevent any further transmission.
The minister said: “Until we eradicate polio in Pakistan, the virus will continue to threaten children here and everywhere. Parents and caregivers, it is imperative that you understand the risk to your children and make sure that they receive polio drops in every campaign. This is the only way to ensure lifelong immunity for them.”
He added that a polio campaign begins in over 70 districts on 15 May and in southern KP on 29 May, which is the perfect opportunity for parents to vaccinate their children at their doorstep.
Dr Shahzad Baig, Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, said that in the last stages of eradication, the virus could find refuge and thrive in under-immunised communities, which is why the seven endemic districts of southern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are of deep concern for the Polio Program.
He said: “Through intensive efforts after last year’s outbreak in southern KP, we have successfully contained the virus in this region. Here, the programme is maintaining a sharp focus on repeated quality campaigns, increased polio surveillance, increasing vaccine acceptance and improving overall routine immunisation rates.”
The Pakistan Polio Programme is already testing for poliovirus at 114 fixed environmental sites in the country every month. To further enhance surveillance in high-risk areas, it has also periodically collected additional sewage samples from multiple sites in southern KP. This latest detection is from one such collection site.
Dr Shahzad Baig further said that this prompt detection would enable the programme to plan a swift response and protect children from paralytic polio.
This is the first positive environmental sample from Lower South Waziristan this year, where the last human case was reported in August 2022. So far, in 2023, one human case and six positive samples have been reported from Pakistan.
It should be noted that no human case has been reported outside the endemic southern KP region in over two years.
