Government efforts to eradicate polio seem ineffective as more environmental samples tested positive for the virus in the first five months of 2024 compared to the entire previous year. At a recent stakeholders meeting in Qatar, Pakistan’s polio situation was deemed worse than Afghanistan’s. The tally of positive environmental samples this year reached 148 from 39 districts, with three reported poliovirus cases. The National Institute of Health confirmed Type-1 Wild Poliovirus in eight sites across six districts. These samples were genetically linked to an imported YB3A WPV1 genetic cluster. The Technical Advisory Group meeting highlighted Pakistan’s worsening situation compared to Afghanistan, with 44 affected districts in Pakistan and only 18 in Afghanistan since their last meeting in June 2023.
