Negative reports for polio virus have been received from most districts of Pakistan.
Officials said that at the beginning of this year, most environmental samples across Pakistan were found free of the polio virus.
In January 2026, environmental samples from 67 out of 87 districts were found negative for polio virus. Out of 127 samples collected from across the country, only 24 were confirmed positive for polio virus.
Officials said that the lowest positive rate in environmental polio samples has been recorded for the first time since October 2023. All environmental samples from Punjab, Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit Baltistan were found free of polio.
The presence of polio virus was confirmed in the districts of Dera Bugti and Kech in Balochistan, while four environmental samples in southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tested positive for polio.
Officials said that most positive samples in Sindh were reported from Karachi and adjoining districts. Four environmental sites in Karachi became free of polio virus after a long time
Environmental surveillance is an effective method for timely detection of the polio virus. During the polio campaign, nearly one million children were left unvaccinated, with refusal of polio vaccine largely driven by misinformation spread on social media.
Officials said that Pakistan is among the few countries in the world where polio still exists.
