NIH confirms presence of poliovirus in 36pc samples across 87 districts

Islamabad: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Tuesday confirmed the presence of poliovirus in 42 of 117 sewage samples collected from 87 districts across the country in July.

According to a press release issued by NIH’s Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication, out of 127 sewage samples, the institute “confirmed 75 sewage samples as negative and 42 as positive”, while the remaining 10 were still being processed in the lab.

The positive results made up nearly 36 per cent of the total samples, compared to 32 per cent for June, based on NIH press releases.

However, the NIH said: “While the overall trend shows a decline in positive detections, reflecting the impact of high-quality campaigns, the virus continues to circulate in certain areas.”

“July data shows steady progress in containment,” it added.