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Pakistan in polio grip: Lab tests find virus in 20 districts, 13 cases officially reported in 2025
Pakistan is staring at a health crisis after authorities found the poliovirus in 20 districts in samples collected from sewage. The findings have raised an alarm in the country with 13 confirmed cases so far this year.
A report by ARY News that quoted data from the National Reference Laboratory, at least 13 samples collected between May 8 and June 17, tested positive for Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1). The samples were collected from key cities like Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad, as well as in districts across Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
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Meanwhile, Sindh reported the highest number of contaminated samples, with 14 testing positive across 10 districts. Lahore confirmed three cases, while Islamabad and four districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also reported positive samples. In Balochistan, the virus was detected in Mastung, Khuzdar, and Sibi. Additionally, Mirpur in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) showed evidence of the virus.
Vaccine hesitancy
The rise in confirmed cases of polio is reported at a time when Pakistan is witnessing a decline in vaccine takers. Recently, the country conducted a nationwide polio vaccination drive, where at least 60,000 people refused to get the shot, with 39,000 of them in Karachi alone.
These refusals are posing as a roadblock to the country's polio eradication efforts. 'We're not just fighting a virus; we're battling misinformation and mistrust,' a senior official told ARY.
Health experts caution that polio spreads mainly through contaminated water or food and can lead to paralysis or even death. With no cure available, vaccination remains the only form of protection. The World Health Organisation stresses that multiple oral doses are essential to safeguard children under five, who are most at risk.
With the virus reappearing in both urban and rural sewage systems, officials emphasise that the next phase of Pakistan's fight against polio must address both the spread of the virus and vaccine hesitancy with equal urgency.
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First Post
2 days ago
- First Post
Pakistan in polio grip: Lab tests find virus in 20 districts, 13 cases officially reported in 2025
At least 13 samples collected between May 8 and June 17, tested positive for Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1). The samples were collected from key cities like Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad read more Pakistan is staring at a health crisis after authorities found the poliovirus in 20 districts in samples collected from sewage. The findings have raised an alarm in the country with 13 confirmed cases so far this year. A report by ARY News that quoted data from the National Reference Laboratory, at least 13 samples collected between May 8 and June 17, tested positive for Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1). The samples were collected from key cities like Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad, as well as in districts across Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, Sindh reported the highest number of contaminated samples, with 14 testing positive across 10 districts. Lahore confirmed three cases, while Islamabad and four districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also reported positive samples. In Balochistan, the virus was detected in Mastung, Khuzdar, and Sibi. Additionally, Mirpur in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) showed evidence of the virus. Vaccine hesitancy The rise in confirmed cases of polio is reported at a time when Pakistan is witnessing a decline in vaccine takers. Recently, the country conducted a nationwide polio vaccination drive, where at least 60,000 people refused to get the shot, with 39,000 of them in Karachi alone. These refusals are posing as a roadblock to the country's polio eradication efforts. 'We're not just fighting a virus; we're battling misinformation and mistrust,' a senior official told ARY. Health experts caution that polio spreads mainly through contaminated water or food and can lead to paralysis or even death. With no cure available, vaccination remains the only form of protection. The World Health Organisation stresses that multiple oral doses are essential to safeguard children under five, who are most at risk. With the virus reappearing in both urban and rural sewage systems, officials emphasise that the next phase of Pakistan's fight against polio must address both the spread of the virus and vaccine hesitancy with equal urgency.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Polio continues to cripple Pakistan as virus yet again detected across 20 sewage samples
Poliovirus has been detected in 20 sewage sample testing across Pakistan, as reported by ARY News on Sunday citing National Reference Laboratory. As per Ary News, referring to details, the National Reference Laboratory has completed nationwide sewage sample testing, with the Poliovirus detected in a total of 28 sewage samples from 20 districts, including Islamabad, have tested positive for the virus. Citing sources, Ary News observed that the environmental samples collected from sewer lines tested positive for Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1). These environmental samples were taken between May 8 and June 17. In Sindh, 14 sewage samples from 10 districts tested positive for polio. Three samples in Lahore also came back positive. In Balochistan, samples from three districts--Mastung, Khuzdar, and Sibi--confirmed the presence of poliovirus. Five samples from four districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also tested positive. Two samples from two locations in Islamabad were also confirmed positive. In PoJK, one sample from district Mirpur tested positive for the poliovirus. Earlier this year, Pakistan had recorded over 60,000 cases of polio vaccine refusal during its nationwide anti-polio campaign conducted between April 21 and 27 this year, according to a report by ARY News citing official sources. The ARY News report stated that a total of 60,906 polio vaccine refusals were documented during the country's second national polio eradication drive of 2025. Sindh reported the highest number of refusals, with 39,073 cases, out of which more than 37,000 were from Karachi alone, the report said. Balochistan followed with over 3,500 refusal cases, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded a vaccine refusal rate of 0.4 per cent, according to the data. Instances of parental refusal were also reported from Punjab and Islamabad, as per the ARY News report. The reluctance to vaccinate remains a significant hurdle in Pakistan's battle against polio. The latest data comes amid confirmation of another new polio case in the country, bringing the total number of cases in 2025 to 13. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. The virus is transmitted person-to-person, mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food), and multiplies in the intestine. The disease can cause paralysis and even death, with no cure available. However, vaccination remains the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completing the routine vaccination schedule for children under five are crucial to providing high immunity against polio. Children under 5 years of age are mainly affected by polio, according to the WHO. However, anyone of any age who is unvaccinated can contract the disease. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. The polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life. Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic nations in the world, alongside Afghanistan. The number of polio cases reduced significantly every year in Pakistan until the recent rise in cases. Despite national campaigns being conducted in Pakistan to eradicate polio, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains a challenge due to access issues and barriers to house-to-house vaccination, leaving many children unvaccinated and vulnerable.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business Standard
Israeli strikes kill 32 in Gaza as war death toll tops 58K after 21 months
Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 32 people on Sunday, including six children at a water collection point, while the Palestinian death toll passed 58,000 after 21 months of war, local health officials said. Israel and Hamas appeared no closer to a breakthrough in indirect talks meant to pause the war and free some Israeli hostages after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Washington visit last week. A new sticking point has emerged over Israeli troops ' deployment during a ceasefire. Israel says it will end the war only once Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something it refuses to do. Hamas says it is willing to free all the remaining 50 hostages, about 20 said to be alive, in exchange for an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. Throughout the war in Gaza, violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Funerals were held there Sunday for two Palestinians, including Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, killed by Israeli settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Children killed and Israel blames a technical error In central Gaza, officials at Al-Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies after an Israeli strike on a water collection point in nearby Nuseirat. Among the dead were six children. Ramadan Nassar, a witness who lives in the area, told The Associated Press that around 20 children and 14 adults had been lined up to get water. He said Palestinians walk some 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) to fetch water from the area. The Israeli military said it was targeting a militant but a technical error made its munitions fall dozens of metres from the target. In Nuseirat, a small boy leaned over a body bag to say goodbye to a friend. There is no safe place, resident Raafat Fanouna said as some people went over the rubble with sticks and bare hands. Separately, health officials said an Israeli strike hit a group of citizens walking in the street on Sunday afternoon in central Gaza City, killing 11 people and injuring around 30 others. Dr Ahmed Qandil, who specializes in general surgery, was among those killed, Gaza's Health Ministry said. A ministry spokesperson, Zaher al-Wahidi, told the AP that Qandil had been on his way to Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital. In the central town of Zawaida, an Israeli strike on a home killed nine, including two women and three children, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Later, Al-Awda Hospital said a strike on a group of people in Zawaida killed two. Israel's military said it was unaware of the strike on the home, but said it hit more than 150 targets over the past 24 hours, including what it called weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and sniping posts. Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militant group operates out of populated areas. Gaza's Health Ministry says women and children make up more than half of the over 58,000 dead in the war. The ministry, under Gaza's Hamas-run government, doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organisations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The Hamas-led attack on Oct 7, 2023, that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251. Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen told right-wing Channel 14 that his ministry will not help rebuild infrastructure in Gaza. Gaza should remain an island of ruins to the next decades, he said. Funeral for Palestinian-American killed in the West Bank In the West Bank, which has seen violence between Israeli troops and Palestinians and Israeli settlers' attacks on Palestinians, funerals were held for a Palestinian-American and a Palestinian friend. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Musallet, from Florida, had been beaten by Israeli settlers. Diana Halum, a cousin, said the attack occurred on his family's land. The ministry initially identified him as Seifeddine Musalat, 23. Musallet's friend, Mohammed al-Shalabi, was shot in the chest, the ministry said. Israel's military has said Palestinians hurled rocks at Israelis in the area on Friday, lightly wounding two people and setting off a larger confrontation. Palestinians and rights groups have long accused the military of ignoring settler violence. Their bodies were carried through the streets on Sunday as mourners waved Palestinian flags and chanted, God is great. Musallet's family has said it wants the US State Department to investigate his death and hold the settlers accountable. The State Department said it had no comment out of respect for the family. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
