KARACHI: The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative discovered Wild Poliovirus Type-1 in environmental samples from Peshawar and Sibi, The News reported on Tuesday.
According to a PEI official, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad has confirmed the presence of Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1) in two environmental (sewage) samples from Sibi and Peshawar.
On January 15, the crew obtained a sample from the ‘Main Ghanda Nala’ environmental sample collecting location in Sibi district, Balochistan. This was the district’s first positive sample since the sample station was established in December 2022.
The discovered and isolated virus belongs to the YB3A cluster. It shares 99.66% genetic similarities with the one found in the Quetta environmental sample.
