47 out of 127 sewage samples found to be infected with polio virus: NIH

ISLAMABAD: The National Health Institute (NIH) Pakistan has confirmed that 47 out of 127 sewage samples collected from 87 districts in October 2025 are polio positive.

According to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP) in October 2025, Pakistan’s extensive environmental surveillance network collected 127 sewage samples from 87 districts nationwide.

Testing conducted at the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed 77 samples as negative and 47 as positive. The PPEP added that currently, three additional samples are under process in the lab.

In 2025, Pakistan reported 30 cases, of which 19 were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine in Sindh, and one each from Punjab and the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

Province wise details are given below: Balochistan out of 23 samples 19 were confirmed negative and four positive, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa out of 33 samples 23 were negative, 10 positive and one under process, in Punjab out of 31 samples,20 confirmed negative and 11 positive, in Sindh out of 28 samples seven confirmed negative, 21 positive and one under process, in federal capital Islamabad out of five samples collected four were proven negative and one positive, in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) three proven negative and in Gilgit-Baltistan out of two samples collected one proven negative and one is under process.

While the overall trend indicates a decline in positive detections, reflecting the impact of recent high-quality vaccination campaigns, virus circulation persists in certain high-risk areas. These detections highlight the continued need for strong, targeted efforts to interrupt transmission.

The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme is intensifying efforts to sustain comprehensive vaccination coverage and ensure the highest quality campaigns in vulnerable areas.

The National Task Force has endorsed the 2025–26 roadmap to interrupt poliovirus transmission through multiple supplementary immunisation activities and the strengthening of routine immunisation systems.

As part of this roadmap, the fourth nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025 was successfully conducted in October, vaccinating over 45 million children under the age of five. Vitamin

A supplements were also administered to children to help boost their immunity. A special FIPV campaign is under way in selected Lahore UCs (Nov 3–12), alongside a case-response campaign in Torghar (Nov 10–13), strengthening efforts to protect children from polio.

The next nationwide campaign, scheduled for mid-December, will further enhance children’s immunity.

A national Measles-Rubella vaccination campaign will be conducted across Pakistan from 17 to 29 November 2025, protecting all children aged 6 months to 5 years against measles and rubella. During this campaign, polio drops will also be administered in 89 districts.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025