KARACHI:The wild poliovirus has been detected from samples taken from all major areas of Karachi, confirms an environmental survey carried out by Emergency Operation Cell teams.
The environmental survey done by the Emergency Operation Cell team shows the presence of the wild poliovirus in 11 different parts of Karachi including Orangi, Landhi, Saddar, Gadap, Gulishan-e-Iqbal, Korangi, SITE, and Liaqatabad. These areas are found heavily affected due to presence of poliovirus.
According to health department sources, two polio cases have been confirmed from Karachi so far and one from Larkana. The total polio cases in Pakistan in 2019 so far are 21. This was the first time that the presence of the wild poliovirus has been detected from samples at such a large scale in the country’s most populous city.
The Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication, Babar Bin Ata, said a massive campaign will start after Eid and they will ensure not to miss any children in the vaccination drive.
He urged parents to vaccinate their children in every anti-polio campaign so that polio can be eradicated from Pakistan to save the future of its children.
According to result shared by the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), the presence of virus was confirmed in sewage samples collected in March 2019 from cities of Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Mardan, Bannu, Waziristan, Hyderabad, Kambar and Sukkur.