Pakistan, poliovirus detected in environmental samples

Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in sewage samples from 12 districts in three provinces – Multan, Bahawalpur, Lahore, D.G. Khan, Kasur, Dera Bugti, Lasbela, Quetta, Sibi, South Waziristan Lower, Charsadda and Swabi – according to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Pakistan. The polio programme has expanded its environmental surveillance sites from 65 in 2021 to 127 in 2025, establishing one of the most effective detection systems globally, coupled with a rigorous vaccination campaign aimed at immunising children under 5 across the country. The subsequent nationwide polio campaign is scheduled to run from 21^(st) April to 27^(th) April, to immunise 45.4 million Pakistani paediatric patients, local health sources reported.