KATHMANDU, JULY 19

Polio virus has been found in drain water in Kathmandu.

During an interaction organized by the Health Service Department on 'Polio Disease and Surveillance' on Friday, Chief of the Child Health and Nutrition Division, Dr. Abhiyan Gautam, stated that the polio virus was detected in the water at the confluence of the Tukucha and Bagmati rivers.

A sample collected from the confluence tested positive for the polio virus. This marks the first time the polio virus has been detected in drain water. Nepal last witnessed this virus in humans in 2010, and the country was declared polio-free in 2014. The government had aimed to eradicate polio by 2026.

'Irrespective of where this virus is found, it is quite concerning. Tracing the polio virus raises concerns about potential human infection,' Dr. Gautam explained.

Dr. Gautam further informed that additional tests would be conducted. The sample collected on May 26 was sent to a Bangkok-based laboratory for testing, which resulted positive. The result came on July 13.

It was also shared during the program that the new variant of the virus is 'vaccine-derived polio type-3,' not 'wild polio.' 'It might not have come from elsewhere but from Kathmandu Valley itself, as it was found at Teku, the confluence of the Tukucha and Bagmati rivers,' Dr. Gautam argued.

With the detection of the virus after a decade of eradication, the Ministry of Health and Population has decided to launch an anti-polio campaign in all three districts of the valley.

Director of the Family Welfare Division, Dr. Bibek Kumar Lal, said that 'IPV' vaccination was recently launched against polio. Under the vaccination campaign, a total of 280,000 children will receive anti-polio vaccinations from July 24 to 27.