Further details of the confirmed detection of poliovirus in theenvironmental sample collected from Lahore indicated that the virusdetected in Gulshan Ravi locality is similar to the poliovirus found lastNovember in Afghan province of Nangarhar.
According to Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel, the detection ofnew poliovirus prompted authorities to plan additional polio campaigns inFebruary and March in Lahore.
He said that timely detection of the virus in the environment is essentialto prevent children from contracting the poliovirus and being crippled.
He detailed that Pakistan Polio Program has worked very closely with theAfghanistan Polio Program. The only way to prevent the spread of the virusis to vaccinate children up to five years of age.
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He advised that Parents, particularly in Lahore, should ensure that theirchildren are vaccinated against polio in the campaign to be held inFebruary.
The Health Minister highlighted that the last case of polio from Lahore wasreported in July 2020 and Polio virus was found in four environmentalsamples taken from Lahore district last year.
