Seven samples collected from sewages in different localities in Karachi tested positive for poliovirus on Wednesday.
The areas from where the samples were collected include Sohrab Goth, Gadap Town, Hijrat Colony, Saddar, Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), Haji Mureed Goth and Liaquatabad.
It is pertinent to mention here that the anti-polio campaign in the country has been facing serious impediments as more and more cases are reported every other day, raising questions over the quality and effectiveness of vaccinations being provided to children.
Pakistan is among the only three countries where the crippling disease still has a stronghold; the other two being Afghanistan and Nigeria.
While Pakistani health officials report that only a dozen cases were reported in 2018 as compared to the 306 cases in 2014 and more than 350,000 in 1988, concerned officials are reviewing their approach toward polio eradication.
In October, the Independent Monitoring Board, which oversees the global polio eradication effort, wrote in its annual report that there was “something seriously wrong with the programme in Pakistan”.
In April, fuelled by rumours on social media that children were being poisoned by the vaccinations, mobs rioted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), killing at least three polio workers.
