GUWAHATI, Oct 28: Pakistan today launched its third nationwide polio campaign after the virus was detected in environmental samples collected from 16 districts.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in sewage samples from 16 districts, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Samples were again collected from Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, three districts of Karachi, Chaman, Shaheed Benazirabad, Badin, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Sujawal, Dadu, Kambar, Jacobabad and Dera Ghazi Khan, the newspaper report further stated, and added: “All these districts had previously reported virus detection — either in humans or sewage samples — and there was no change in the status.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the campaign while administering polio drops to a few children.
Reports said 21 polio cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, six from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
