The National Health Institutes confirmed on Tuesday the presence of poliovirus in 42 of 117 samples of wastewater collected from 87 districts throughout the country in July.
Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where polyomyelitis remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate virus, challenges such as safety problems, vaccine vaccine and erroneous information have slowed progress.
According to a press release issued by the NIH Regional Reference Laboratory for the eradication of the polio, 127 wastewater samples, the institute “confirmed 75 wastewater samples as negative and 42 as positive”, while the remaining 10 were still processed in the laboratory.
The positive results increased almost 36 percent of the total samples, compared to 32pc for June, depending on NIH press releases.
However, NIH said: “While the general trend shows a decrease in positive detections, which reflects the impact of high quality campaigns, the virus continues to circulate in certain areas.”
“Julio’s data show constant progress in containment,” he added.
Sindh reported the largest number of positive samples, with 19 positive samples of 29 proven, closely followed by Punjab with 12 positive results of 27.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the poliovirus was found in seven samples of 31 samples of proven wastewater, equivalent to the results of last month, but marking a strong decrease as of January 14.
“Of these seven positive sites in July, three are from the south of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Peshawar, four out of six sites tested negative,” said the statement.
It was only found that a sample was positive in Baluchistan, below four in June, while the 22 results were negative. Meanwhile, in Islamabad, three of the four samples were positive for the disease.
Four samples were being processed in Punjab, three in KP, and one in Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltist (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), said the NIH.
The three samples of GB and AJK wastewater have tried negative for the virus so far.
According to the latest data, the total number of cases of polyomyelitis in Pakistan, reported in 2025, was 19, including 12 KP, five from Sindh and one of Punjab and GB.
“During the last year, the Pakistan Polyomyelitis program has carried out six high quality vaccination campaigns, four of them throughout the country”, which aimed to vaccinate more than 45 million children.
According to the press release, “these sustained efforts have significantly reduced polio cases and positive environmental samples throughout the country, which demonstrates strong progress towards transmission interruption.
“The next subnational polio vaccination campaign is scheduled for September 1 to 7, 2025, which will aim to vaccinate 28 million children in 91 districts in all provinces and regions,” according to NIH.
On July 3, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised to intensify the eradication efforts of polyomyelitis with the support of international, provincial and local teams to achieve a polio -free country.
Last year, the country reported at least 71 cases of polio, with the virus detected in around 90 districts.
Poly is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause life paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the Polyomyelitis (OPV) vaccine for each child under five years during each campaign, along with the timely completion of all essential immunizations.
