The National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad has confirmed the detection of Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1) in environmental samples from three additional cities in Pakistan.

Sewage samples collected from Karachi South, Karachi Central, Jamshoro, and Hub have tested positive for poliovirus, genetically linked to the imported YB3A genetic cluster of WPV1, according to a report from the Regional Reference Lab for Polio Eradication at NIH on Thursday.

An official from the health ministry stated, “The virus has been found in sewage samples of 34 districts so far this year. All positive samples and the two human cases reported in 2024 contain the YB3A cluster, which had disappeared from Pakistan in 2021, but remained in circulation in Afghanistan and was reintroduced through cross-border transmission last year.”

Just a day prior, three samples from various districts of Karachi and one from Pishin had also tested positive for the virus.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, expressing hope for polio eradication, emphasized collaboration with global partners and national institutions to combat the disease. In a meeting with a delegation from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) led by Dr. Christopher Elias, Chair of Polio Oversight Board and President of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Division, Sharif reiterated the government’s commitment to eliminating polio from Pakistan.

The prime minister directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to initiate a joint awareness campaign in collaboration with the GPEI to combat the spread of the disease.