{"id":7043,"date":"2026-07-23T07:15:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T07:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=7043"},"modified":"2026-07-23T07:15:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T07:15:19","slug":"polio-virus-positivity-rate-in-pakistans-environmental-samples-declines-significantly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=7043","title":{"rendered":"Polio Virus Positivity Rate in Pakistan’s Environmental Samples Declines Significantly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ISLAMABAD:<\/strong> Pakistan has recorded a significant decline in the polio virus positivity rate<\/strong> in environmental samples, reflecting progress in the country’s ongoing efforts to eradicate the disease, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NEOC reported that 127 environmental samples<\/strong> were collected from across the country during June 2026<\/strong>. Of these, 117 samples tested negative<\/strong> for the poliovirus, while 10 samples were confirmed positive<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the NEOC, the number of positive environmental samples<\/strong> detected between January and June 2026<\/strong> dropped sharply from 369 to 100<\/strong>, indicating a substantial reduction in virus circulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Provincial data also showed encouraging results. In Punjab<\/strong>, all 31 environmental samples<\/strong> collected during June tested negative<\/strong> for the poliovirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sindh<\/strong>, 28 out of 29 samples<\/strong> were found to be negative, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa<\/strong> recorded 30 negative samples out of 34<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, in Balochistan<\/strong>, 18 of the 23 environmental samples<\/strong> tested negative for the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NEOC stated that three polio cases<\/strong> have been confirmed in Pakistan so far in 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that the environmental positivity rate<\/strong> during the first six months of the year<\/strong> declined significantly from 48.1 percent to 13.1 percent<\/strong>, demonstrating notable progress in the country’s polio eradication campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials attributed the improvement to strengthened surveillance, expanded vaccination coverage, and enhanced access to children in high-risk areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NEOC emphasized that environmental surveillance remains a critical component of Pakistan’s strategy to eliminate polio, as testing sewage samples helps detect the presence of the virus even when no clinical cases are reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities said efforts are continuing to further strengthen environmental monitoring, improve immunization coverage, and ensure access to every child across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NEOC urged parents and caregivers to ensure that every child under the age of five<\/strong> receives polio drops during every nationwide vaccination campaign<\/strong>, stressing that repeated vaccination is essential to protect children from the virus and achieve the goal of a polio-free Pakistan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded a significant decline in the polio virus positivity rate in environmental samples, reflecting progress in the country’s ongoing efforts to eradicate..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/438563_6509037_updates-1-1.jpg",700,400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/438563_6509037_updates-1-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/438563_6509037_updates-1-1-300x171.jpg",300,171,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/438563_6509037_updates-1-1.jpg",700,400,false],"large":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/438563_6509037_updates-1-1.jpg",700,400,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/438563_6509037_updates-1-1.jpg",700,400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/438563_6509037_updates-1-1.jpg",700,400,false]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Pakistan<\/a>","tag_info":"Pakistan","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7045,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7043\/revisions\/7045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}