KARACHI: Polio virus has been detected in an environmental sample in Sindh’s capital Karachi, ARY News reported on Thursday.

According to the National Institute of Health’s Pakistan Polio Laboratory, poliovirus was first detected in an environmental sample in Karachi in 2023. The sample was collected on May 15 from Sohrab Goth area of ​​the city.

One case of polio virus was reported in Pakistan this year.

Earlier in May, a health ministry spokesperson confirmed on Monday that polio virus had been detected in two environmental samples in Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Read more: A week-long anti-polio campaign has started in Balochistan

Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel said in a statement that Pakistan and Afghanistan are making joint efforts to eradicate polio virus.

According to the Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health, the virus was detected in sewage samples collected from Larama and Nare Khowar.

The health minister said that genetic analysis has revealed that the isolated virus is related to a cluster of viruses currently circulating in Afghanistan’s neighboring province of Nangarhar.

Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel emphasized the joint efforts of Pakistan and Afghanistan to eradicate polio and said that both countries are determined to eradicate this disease.

He said that the authorities are taking all necessary measures to eradicate the disease and appealed to the citizens to make their children vaccinated against polio.