Lowest level of polio virus environmental positivity recorded since October 2023

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Feb, 2026) The circulation of poliovirus in the country has declined significantly, as majority of environmental samples collected from 87 districts in January 2026 tested negative, signalling measurable progress in ongoing efforts to eradicate the crippling disease and interrupt virus transmission nationwide.

Environmental surveillance, which involves testing sewage for poliovirus, is considered a sensitive early warning system and often detects the virus even when no paralytic polio cases are reported.

According to Health authorities this decline in environmental sampling of polio has been achieved in October 2023 and is marked as noticeable improvement in circulation of virus in the country.

Out of 87 districts currently under environmental surveillance, 67 reported no poliovirus detection during in January 2026.

While of the 127 sewage sampling sites monitored nationwide, only 24 samples, around 19 per cent, tested positive, the data reads.

Country’s most populous province, Punjab, along with the Federal capital, Islamabad, as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, reported no positive samples from any of their environmental surveillance sites.

Sindh accounted for the highest number of detections, with most positive sites located in Karachi and adjoining districts, as well as parts of northern Sindh.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four positive samples were reported, all from southern districts including Bannu, North and South Waziristan. Balochistan reported two positive sites, in Dera Bugti and Kech.

Health authorities also pointed to a positive trend in Karachi, where four environmental surveillance sites that had remained positive for prolonged periods turned negative in January, suggesting a possible decline in virus circulation following repeated vaccination drives.

It merits a mention here that in 2025, polio cases in the country registered reduction by around 60 percent, falling from 74 infections in 2024 to 31 in 2025.

Relevant officials attributed 60 percent decline in polio cases to large scale nationwide polio immunization campaigns achieving 98 percent vaccination against the target of 45 million children under the age of five.

Officials expressed hope that, through the strenuous efforts of health teams including 400,000 vaccinators, nearly 250,000 of them women and with the continued support of communities in ensuring every child is vaccinated, the country can be made polio-free within the next couple of years.