Pakistan Detects Poliovirus in 42 Sewage Samples, Vaccination Drive Planned for September
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has confirmed the presence of poliovirus in 42 out of 117 sewage samples collected from 87 districts across Pakistan in July 2025.
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries where polio is still endemic. Despite progress through vaccination campaigns, challenges like security concerns, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation continue to hinder eradication efforts.
According to NIH’s Regional Reference Laboratory, around 36% of July’s sewage samples tested positive, slightly higher than 32% in June. While many areas showed improvement, the virus is still circulating in certain regions.
Provincial Breakdown:
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Sindh: 19 positive samples out of 29
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Punjab: 12 positive out of 27
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 7 positive out of 31 (same as June, but down from 14 in January)
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Balochistan: 1 positive out of 23 samples
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Islamabad: 3 positive out of 4 samples
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Gilgit-Baltistan & AJK: All samples negative so far
In 2025 so far, Pakistan has reported 19 confirmed polio cases — 12 from KP, 5 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and GB. This is a major decline compared to 71 cases in 2024.
The NIH highlighted that six large-scale vaccination drives were held in the past year, reaching millions of children. The next campaign is scheduled for September 1–7, 2025, targeting 28 million children across 91 districts.
Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The oral polio vaccine (OPV) remains the only effective protection, requiring multiple doses for every child under five.
