The Sindh Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for Polio launched a week-long anti-polio campaign in Karachi on July 6, running through July 12. The campaign targets children under the age of five, aiming to strengthen immunity and halt transmission during the high-risk season.
Significant Progress in Polio Surveillance
Officials reported that environmental surveillance data from June 2026 shows polio virus was not detected in 28 out of 29 sampling sites across Sindh. This marks the best performance since August 2023. Only one site, located in Karachi's East District, tested positive, indicating that transmission has been reduced considerably but not eliminated.
In Karachi, 11 out of 12 environmental monitoring sites tested negative for the virus for the first time since August 2023. Six of these sites have remained consistently negative over the past four to five months. District East, once a key hotspot, now has only a single positive location, a shift authorities attribute to sustained vaccination efforts.
Improvement Across Sindh
Beyond Karachi, all 17 environmental monitoring sites across the rest of Sindh tested negative for polio virus for the first time since October 2023. Districts including Kashmore, Qambar, Badin, and Mirpurkhas, where the virus had persisted for months, are now reporting steady improvement, reflecting the effectiveness of province-wide immunisation campaigns.
The campaign underscores health authorities' commitment to sustaining recent gains and preventing resurgence of the virus. According to the Sindh EOC, the high-risk season requires intensified efforts to ensure children are protected.
