Wild poliovirus detected in sewage samples of Pakistan

Wild poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples from Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province

Islamabad: Wild poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples from Pakistan‘s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the country’s health ministry said on Wednesday.

The virus was also found on April 10 in environmental samples collected from KP’s Hangu district and provincial capital Peshawar, the ministry said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

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The two detected viruses are genetically linked to poliovirus found in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province in January this year, it added.

Pakistan and Afghanistan will continue to work together in the battle against polio, Pakistan Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel said in a statement.