Islamabad, Mar. 24, (dpa/GNA) – The polio virus was found in sewage samples from at least 18 districts in Pakistan, officials said on Monday, posing a potential risk to eradication efforts in one of the last hotspots of the disease in the world.
The wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in 18 major cities including Islamabad, a spokesman for the polio eradication program said.
He said that the sewage samples use basic parameters to detect the virus and evaluate the results of vaccination campaigns.
Pakistan’s polio surveillance system, considered one of the best in the world, has expanded environmental surveillance to ensure no transmission goes unnoticed.
Last year, Pakistan witnessed a resurgence of the crippling disease and recorded 74 new cases compared to six cases in 2023. At least six new cases have been reported so far this year, according to the Health Ministry.
“According to an estimate, there are around 100 undetected cases for every single diagnosed case,” said former health minister Zafar Mirza, an experienced health activist.
Pakistan undertakes periodic immunization drives to control the spread of the virus but the campaigns are often targeted by Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda and affiliated Taliban.
The militants and some Islamic clerics allege the polio vaccination campaign is a ploy by the West to sterilize Muslims.
A nationwide vaccination drive targeting more than 45 million children under the age of five is scheduled next month.