Karachi: Poliovirus is detected in environmental samples from seven different districts in the country, reported Pakistani polio extension program on Saturday.
The program said virus was found in environmental monsters from Quetta, Gwadar, South Waziristan (Lager) and Zuid -Waziristan (upper). In addition, environmental samples from Larkana, Rawalpindi and Mirpurkhas also contain poliovirus.
In a positive news, environmental monsters from Pishin and Lahore were declared free of the poliovirus declared by the Polio external program, the public organization fighting to end the paralyzing disease from the country.
According to the anti-poliovirus organization, a total of nine waste water samples were collected from nine districts in Pakistan between 8 and 23 May as part of efforts for environmental monitoring.
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reported on 16 June that the refusal percentage of the vaccination is increasing in Karachi, with at least 37,711 parents who took the polio vaccine in May.
This meant an increase in refusal cases when parents in the port city continued to vaccinate their children against polio.
In April, according to the EOC, 37,360 parents refused anti-polio vaccination.
The center stated: “The refusal percentage during the Anti-Polio campaign remains a constant challenge. Polio extremization requires continuous support from parents.”
Special attention is paid to trade union councils that risk polio. Misunderstandings and a lack of consciousness are identified as the main reasons for refusing vaccine.
Polio is a highly contagious disease caused by the poliovirus, which mainly affects children under the age of five. It can penetrate the nervous system, which leads to paralysis or even death. Although there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children against this disease.
Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world, together with Afghanistan, and the number of cases every year had fallen considerably in the country, to the recent peak in cases.
Until now, Pakistan has reported 6 cases of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4 from Sindh, and 1 each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan, after Pakistan had reported his 12th PolioVirus case this year from KP’s Bannu district.
Despite the progress in national campaigns, Southern KP remains a challenge due to access problems and barriers for home-to-house vaccination, making many children non-vaccinated and vulnerable.
In 2025, three national campaigns – held in February, April and May – reached more than 45 million children, supported by 400,000 Frontline employees, including 225,000 female vaccinators, the regional reference laboratory for polio extension at the National Institutes of Health (nih) Islamad.
Last month, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program officially launched its third National Immunization Days (NIDS) campaign in an attempt to turn Pakistan into a polio -free nation.
