All environmental samples in Peshawar declared polio-free after two years

Peshawar: A major breakthrough has been made in the fight against polio in Peshawar, where all environmental samples have been found free of the virus after two years.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) Polio Eradication Laboratory confirmed on Sunday that for the first time in more than two years, none of the six environmental testing sites in Peshawar had reported the presence of polio virus, even as 11 samples from other parts of the country tested positive for the virus last week.

According to an official of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication (NIH), out of 24 wastewater samples tested, 13 were negative, while 11 were positive.

The progress, especially in the risk areas, is being hailed as a major success in the polio eradication efforts.

The official said that the results of the Environmental Surveillance (ES) indicate encouraging progress in the risk areas.

He further said that the number of positive ES sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was 14 in January, which has reduced to seven in June 2025, four of these seven positive sites are from southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while all six testing sites in Peshawar have reported negative results for the first time in two years.

Similar progress was seen in other provinces, with a significant decline in Balochistan, where there were 19 positive sites in January, which reduced to just 4 in June, while six out of seven samples taken in the Quetta block turned out negative.

According to the official, the number of positive districts in Punjab was 7 in January, which reduced to 5 in June, while the number of positive ES sites in Sindh has also decreased compared to previous months.

Authorities have credited this improvement to effective vaccination campaigns and strict surveillance.

The official said that due to the standard vaccination campaigns and organized schedule, there has been a clear reduction in polio cases and virus levels in environmental samples across the country.

To further consolidate this success, several targeted vaccination campaigns have been scheduled.

A special campaign will be launched in Diamer and three districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from July 14 to 18, in which 158,497 children will be vaccinated against polio.

A campaign will also be conducted in Rawalpindi and Islamabad next week to vaccinate 161,422 children.

A joint campaign will be launched in the border areas with Afghanistan from July 21 to 25, in which 378,122 children will be vaccinated in border union councils to maintain coordination with the Afghan sub-national polio campaign.

From August 4 to 11, approximately 600,000 children will be vaccinated against polio using fractional inactivated poliovirus vaccine and oral vaccine in seven districts of Balochistan.