&nbsp;As many as 40 environmental samples from all four provinces and the federal capital were found positive for the polio virus during the month of December, Dawn reported, citing an official of the polio laboratory located at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad. According to the NIH polio laboratory official, as many as 127 sewage samples from 87 districts were tested for the presence of poliovirus in December 2025. Of these, 87 samples tested negative, while 40 samples were found positive for poliovirus, the official said. "As many as 23 samples were collected from Balochistan, of which 21 were found negative and two were found positive. A total of 34 samples were collected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, of which 26 were negative and eight were found positive. From Punjab, 31 samples were collected, of which 25 were negative and six were positive. In Sindh, six samples were found negative and 23 were positive. In Islamabad, one out of five samples was found positive. However, five samples collected from Pakistan-occupied Jammu &amp; Kashmir (PoJK) and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) were found negative," the official said. Replying to a query, the NIH official clarified that if poliovirus was detected in sewage, the sample was categorised as positive, while paralysis caused by the virus in a child was counted as a confirmed case. "A sewage water sample from an area is a basic parameter used to determine whether polio vaccination campaigns are being carried out successfully. After detection of positive samples, polio campaigns are immediately launched to eradicate the virus from the area," Dawn quoted the official as saying. The official further underlined that a case can surface in any city due to population movement, but virus detection in sewage indicates gaps in vaccination coverage in that locality. "A polio case can be reported in any city due to the frequent movement of people from one city to another, but the presence of the virus in sewage water means that a vaccination campaign in the area did not meet its target. The presence of the virus in sewage water also indicates that the immunity level of local children has fallen and that they are at risk of the disease," he said. According to a statement, in 2025 the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, led by the government of Pakistan, conducted six vaccination campaigns, including five nationwide and one subnational drive, reaching over 45 million children, Dawn reported. It added that the first nationwide polio campaign of 2026 will be conducted from February 2 to 8 in all four provinces, PoJK, PoGB and Islamabad, with an aim to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five. "To further strengthen immunity, the government of Pakistan continues to provide free routine immunisation services for all children up to two years of age. Together, routine immunisation and repeated polio vaccination provide the strongest and most reliable protection against polio and other preventable diseases. Parents and caregivers are strongly urged to ensure that children under five receive polio drops during every vaccination campaign to protect them from lifelong disability," it stated.

Replying to a query, the NIH official clarified that if poliovirus was detected in sewage, the sample was categorised as positive, while paralysis caused by the virus in a child was counted as a confirmed case.

As many as 40 environmental samples from all four provinces and the federal capital were found positive for the polio virus during the month of December, Dawn reported, citing an official of the polio laboratory located at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad. According to the NIH polio laboratory official, as many as 127 sewage samples from 87 districts were tested for the presence of poliovirus in December 2025. Of these, 87 samples tested negative, while 40 samples were found positive for poliovirus, the official said. "As many as 23 samples were collected from Balochistan, of which 21 were found negative and two were found positive. A total of 34 samples were collected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, of which 26 were negative and eight were found positive. From Punjab, 31 samples were collected, of which 25 were negative and six were positive. In Sindh, six samples were found negative and 23 were positive. In Islamabad, one out of five samples was found positive. However, five samples collected from Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) were found negative," the official said. Replying to a query, the NIH official clarified that if poliovirus was detected in sewage, the sample was categorised as positive, while paralysis caused by the virus in a child was counted as a confirmed case. "A sewage water sample from an area is a basic parameter used to determine whether polio vaccination campaigns are being carried out successfully. After detection of positive samples, polio campaigns are immediately launched to eradicate the virus from the area," Dawn quoted the official as saying. The official further underlined that a case can surface in any city due to population movement, but virus detection in sewage indicates gaps in vaccination coverage in that locality. "A polio case can be reported in any city due to the frequent movement of people from one city to another, but the presence of the virus in sewage water means that a vaccination campaign in the area did not meet its target. The presence of the virus in sewage water also indicates that the immunity level of local children has fallen and that they are at risk of the disease," he said. According to a statement, in 2025 the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, led by the government of Pakistan, conducted six vaccination campaigns, including five nationwide and one subnational drive, reaching over 45 million children, Dawn reported. It added that the first nationwide polio campaign of 2026 will be conducted from February 2 to 8 in all four provinces, PoJK, PoGB and Islamabad, with an aim to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five. "To further strengthen immunity, the government of Pakistan continues to provide free routine immunisation services for all children up to two years of age. Together, routine immunisation and repeated polio vaccination provide the strongest and most reliable protection against polio and other preventable diseases. Parents and caregivers are strongly urged to ensure that children under five receive polio drops during every vaccination campaign to protect them from lifelong disability," it stated.

Replying to a query, the NIH official clarified that if poliovirus was detected in sewage, the sample was categorised as positive, while paralysis caused by the virus in a child was counted as a confirmed case.

Pakistan detects poliovirus in 40 environmental samples in December

A sewage sample containing the wild form of the polio virus had been found in Germany's Hamburg during the week of October 6, 2025. The wastewater test at an unspecified German location confirmed the presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and on November 10 the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was informed about it.&nbsp;The virus which has been found only in wastewater so far is not a cause of concern as no associated cases of paralysis have been detected in Germany yet.&nbsp;According to the website of the World Health Organisation, WPV1 was last identified from an environmental sample collected in Afghanistan's Kandahar on August 24, 2025.&nbsp;ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/obesity-can-now-get-your-us-visa-denied-unless-you-re-donald-trump-all-you-need-to-know-1763092492815">79-year-old 'overweight' Trump makes obesity and age grounds for US visa denial. All you need to know</a>&nbsp;The detection of the virus comes more than 30 years after Germany witnessed the last cases of wild polio virus infections in people. It is also for the first time that the detection of the virus was marked from environmental sampling in the country since this type of routine monitoring began in 2021, reported Reuters.&nbsp;An expert task force on infection control has been formed by the Hamburg authorities after the detection of the virus. It will co-ordinating closely with Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's main public health body and take more samples to study the risks associated with the virus and determine the required public health measures.&nbsp;However, experts say the risk of infection is limited as vaccination against polio is widespread in Germany and the early detection will provide the authorities the opportunity to implement appropriate measures swiftly to protect children and communities.&nbsp;This event brings to light the need for continued vaccination coverage, strong disease surveillance and international solidarity in order to achieve a polio-free world.&nbsp;

The detection of the virus comes more than 30 years after Germany witnessed the last cases of wild polio virus infections in people.

A sewage sample containing the wild form of the polio virus had been found in Germany's Hamburg during the week of October 6, 2025. The wastewater test at an unspecified German location confirmed the presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and on November 10 the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was informed about it. The virus which has been found only in wastewater so far is not a cause of concern as no associated cases of paralysis have been detected in Germany yet. According to the website of the World Health Organisation, WPV1 was last identified from an environmental sample collected in Afghanistan's Kandahar on August 24, 2025. ALSO READ: 79-year-old 'overweight' Trump makes obesity and age grounds for US visa denial. All you need to know The detection of the virus comes more than 30 years after Germany witnessed the last cases of wild polio virus infections in people. It is also for the first time that the detection of the virus was marked from environmental sampling in the country since this type of routine monitoring began in 2021, reported Reuters. An expert task force on infection control has been formed by the Hamburg authorities after the detection of the virus. It will co-ordinating closely with Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's main public health body and take more samples to study the risks associated with the virus and determine the required public health measures. However, experts say the risk of infection is limited as vaccination against polio is widespread in Germany and the early detection will provide the authorities the opportunity to implement appropriate measures swiftly to protect children and communities. This event brings to light the need for continued vaccination coverage, strong disease surveillance and international solidarity in order to achieve a polio-free world.

The detection of the virus comes more than 30 years after Germany witnessed the last cases of wild polio virus infections in people.

There is a new polio virus lurking in Germany: What is it?

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday (July 23) said that there was a high risk of the polio virus spreading across the Gaza Strip and beyond its borders due to the dire health and sanitation situation amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday (July 23) said that there was a high risk of the polio virus spreading across the Gaza Strip and beyond its borders due to the dire health and sanitation situation amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Addressing a press conference, WHO's team lead for health emergencies in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, Ayadil Saparbekov said that circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 had been isolated from environmental samples from sewage in Gaza. "There is a high risk of spreading of the circulating vaccine-derived polio virus in Gaza, not only because of the detection but because of the very dire situation with the water sanitation," Saparbekov said. UN teams to arrive in Gaza on Thursday Saparbekov said that the WHO and the UNICEF teams were scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Thursday to collect human stool samples as part of a risk assessment related to the discovery of the virus. Also read | Israel-Hamas war: Newborn saved from dead mother's womb in Gaza The top WHO official pointed out that the assessment, which would be completed by the end of the week, will allow health officials to issue recommendations, "including the need for a mass vaccination campaign as well as what kind of vaccine should be used and what the age group of the population that will need to be vaccinated." The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began in October last year. Health officials, as per a report by the news agency Reuters, have warned that without proper health services, the people of the Palestinian enclave were particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of disease. Israel to offer polio vaccine to soldiers in Gaza The WHO's warning about the spread of polio in Gaza came two days after Israel said it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in Gaza, Reuters reported. The military also said that with the cooperation of international groups, enough vaccines had been brought in to cover more than one million people in Gaza, which has a total population of around 2.3 million. (With inputs from agencies)

WHO says 'high risk' of polio virus spreading across war-ravaged Gaza Strip

New York has declared a state of emergency over the spread of the polio infections. This is being done in order to try and cut down a number of infections that has been witnessed in the state in recent weeks. It's also trying to boost vaccination rates in the state amidst further evidence that the virus is now spreading across the state.

New York governor declares state disaster emergency amid circulating polio virus

US: Polio is back in places it was eliminated; India continues winning streak against virus

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