Lahore was declared as a ‘high risk’ zone for polio on Wednesday after the virus was detected in environmental sample taken from a sewer of the city.
Punjab Health Department announced the launch of anti-polio campaign in 73 union councils of the provincial capital from May 5.
During the campaign, polio drops would be administered to children below the age of five years.
Until the 1950s, polio crippled thousands every year in developed countries. It attacks the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours of infection.
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria are the only countries left in the world where the virus remains endemic, largely due to violent conflicts, weak health systems and poor sanitation.
