ISLAMABAD: Polio virus has been detected in the environmental sample in Karachi, capital of Sindh province in south Pakistan, the provincial Health Department said, reported Xinhua.

The virus is genetically related to polio virus cluster originally found in Afghanistan, the department said in a statement on Thursday.

Since the beginning of this year, about 20 samples of the kind were found in the country’s east Punjab and northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces besides Karachi, where strict measures were taken to ensure vaccination for kids.

Health Minister Nadeem Jan told media that steps were being taken on an emergency basis to eradicate polio.

After the detection of polio virus in the city, a special anti-polio vaccination campaign from Oct 30 to Nov 3 was underway, and 10 million children up to five years of age were being vaccinated on their doorsteps.

The minister appealed to parents to cooperate with polio teams and save their children from permanent disability.

Pakistan is one of the only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic, according to the World Health Organisation. –Bernama