WPV1 samples collected in Pakistan’s 21 districts

KABUL (Pajhwok): Environ­mental samples collected from 21 districts in Pakistan have confirmed the presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in those areas, a media report said on Sunday.

The samples were collec­ted from Muzaffarabad, Dera Bugti, Hub, Khuzdar, Noshki, Nasirabad, Usta Moh­ammad, Zhob, Las­bela, Islamabad, Charsa­dda, Peshawar, Swabi, Tank, Bahawalpur, D.G. Khan, Jhang, Lahore, Multan, Rahimyar Khan and Karachi East, according to an official of the Regional Reference Labo­r­atory for Polio Eradi­cation at the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Last week, environmental samples from 26 tested positive for WPV1, according to a report in dawn.com.

Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanis­tan, where polio remains endemic.

According to officials, Pakistan has been res­ponding to a “significant re­­­surgence of WPV1”.

“Last year, the country reported 73  cases of the disease. Of these, 27 are from Ba­­lochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa, 22 from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Islam­abad,” he added.

Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress.

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