Poliovirus has been detected in the environmental samples of Karachi and Hangu, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.

The Health Ministry spokesperson said that an anti-polio campaign was going to be launched on October 2, 2023.

“More than 400 million children will be administered anti-polio vaccine during the campaign,” he added.

On September 20, two sewage samples collected from Peshawar and Pishin districts tested positive for wild poliovirus (WPV1).

The Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health notified that WPV1 had been isolated from an environmental sample collected from Naray Khuwar in Peshawar on September 5 and from Turwa in Pishin on September 4.

According to the lab, which is also the WHO Regional Reference Lab, the Peshawar sample is connected to the virus detected in Nangarhar, while the Pishin sample is connected to the virus detected in Kandahar.

Reporter: Kifayat Ali Shah