ISLAMABAD The National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad has confirmed that three environmental (sewage) samples from three major cities, including Karachi, tested positive for the poliovirus.
According to the News, which quoted the officials, samples were taken in Karachi East, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi in December 2023, and they tested positive for the Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1).
This is the fourteenth positive sample from District East this year, and it was taken in Karachi East on December 13, 2023, from the Sohrab Goth environmental sample collection site.
According to officials, the virus that was recovered is categorized as a YB3A cluster, and 99.44% of the samples that were previously positive were obtained in May, September, October, November, and December.
This is the second positive sample from District Islamabad for 2023; it was taken on December 12, 2023, in Islamabad, from the Sabzi Mandi environmental sample collecting site.
According to officials, the prior positive sample was taken on December 11, 2023. The isolated virus is categorized as a YB3A cluster and is 99.6% genetically related to the virus that was found in an ambient sample in Peshawar on December 6, 2023.
The environmental sample for Rawalpindi was taken on December 11, 2023, from the Dhok Dalal environmental sample collecting site. This is the district’s fourth successful sample for 2023.
The previous three positive samples were taken on July 17, August 10, and October 2, 2023, according to officials. They also stated that the isolated virus is 99.6% genetically related to the virus found in an environmental sample taken in Peshawar on December 6, 2023, and is classed as a YB3A cluster.
With these additional discoveries, Pakistan will have 115 positive environmental (sewage) sample results overall in 2023. Furthermore, there would still be six occurrences of human polio in Pakistan in 2023.
