ISLAMABAD: Poliovirus was detected in sewage in Rawalpindi reflecting the ineffectiveness of Pakistan’s poliovirus programme.

Poliovirus has also been detected in sewage samples collected in Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta.

An official of National Institute of Health (NIH), requesting not to be named, said the sewage samples were collected on December 20, 2014 and were brought to the laboratory at NIH for screening.

Sample was collected on December 20, 2014

“The sewage sample from Rawalpindi was collected from Dhoke Dalal. Samples from Peshawar were collected from Shaheen and Muslim towns while the sample from Karachi was collected from Khamiso Goth Gadap Town. The sample from Quetta was collected from Jam-i-Salfia,” he said.

“In December 2013 the World Health Organisation declared Peshawar ‘the world’s largest reservoir for poliovirus’.

In order to combat this, Sehat ka Insaf programme was launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and as many as seven million doses of polio vaccine were given to children in Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda and Swabi,” he said.

“As a result of the campaign, Peshawar became a polio free city and as samples collected from different areas were declared clear. The last campaign under Sehat ka Insaf programme was carried out on April 20, 2014,” he said.

“However, this time the poliovirus has been detected in sewage collected from two different areas which is worrisome for all stakeholders,” the official said.

The official explained that checking sewage samples is the basic parameter for gauging the success of a polio campaign.

Polio cases can go unreported in any city because of frequent movement of people from one city to another but if the virus is found in sewage, it means that the polio campaign in the area has failed.

“The presence of polio virus in sewage also shows that the immunity of children in the area has decreased and they are at risk of contracting the disease,” he said.

Another official of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) said he believed the polio programme was not being run seriously because of which the number of polio cases was increasing all over the country.

“The Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) for Polio has been established but it is unfortunate that not a single member of the EOC is a full time employee,” the official said.

“Results show that the polio campaign needs to be improved in all four cities,” he said.

National Manager Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Dr Rana Safdar, while talking to Dawn, said that whenever the poliovirus was detected in the environmental sample it showed that either all children of the area were not being reached or new people, who have not been immunised, had arrived in the area.

“According to protocol, an emergency response campaign should be launched whenever poliovirus is found in an environmental sample or a polio case is reported. We will also check which area the sewage is originating in and aggressive campaigns will be launched in those areas,” he said.

A mission from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is due to arrive on January 19 which will look into the EOC which is been funded by BMGF.

The mission will be led by Senior Adviser BMGF for Pakistan and Afghanistan for Polio Eradication Dr Waqar Ajmal who will be in Pakistan till January 27.

According to sources, during the visit, the mission will hold meetings with PM’s Focal Person for Polio Ayesha Raza Farooq, Minister NHS Saira Afzal Tarar, ministers and chief secretaries of all provinces and other stakeholders.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2015

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