Kathmandu, July 19: Polio bacteria (virus) has been found in the sewers of Kathmandu. In the interaction program on ‘polio disease and surveillance’ organized by the Department of Health Services, Dr. Abhiyan Gautam, head of the child health and vaccination branch of the department, said that polio bacteria was found in the drains of Teku, the confluence of Tukucha river and Bagmati river in Kathmandu.
According to Dr Abhiyan, this is the first time that polio bacteria has been found in sewage. Polio bacteria was last seen in humans in 2010 in Nepal. Nepal became a polio-free country in 2014. The government aims to eradicate polio by 2026.
“Now the polio bacteria has been found in the sewage. Polio bacteria is a sensitive matter wherever it is seen,” he said.
Dr Gautam mentioned that it is sensitive to see bacteria in sewage and said that it will be investigated whether the person has the bacteria. According to him, it was confirmed that the polio bacteria was found on the 29th of June when the sample collected from the sewage in Bangkok, Thailand was tested. Sewage samples were collected from the confluence of two rivers on Jestha 13, 2081 BS.
Nepal was declared as eradication of polio earlier. According to him, the said polio bacteria is not ‘wild polio’ found naturally but ‘vaccine derived polio type-3’ bacteria. “Polio virus may have come from Kathmandu Valley as it was found in Tuku, the confluence of Tukucha and Bagmati,” he said.
After the discovery of polio germs in the valley, the Ministry of Health and Population is conducting a vaccination campaign against polio in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. Director of Family Welfare Division, Dr. Bibek Kumar Lal, said that since birth, children below the age of five have been going door-to-door to carry out Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) vaccination campaign against polio disease. According to him, the vaccine will be given to 280,000 children from Srawan 9 to 12, 2081 BS. Along with the campaign, homes and hospitals will also be tested for the presence of polio bacteria, he said.
The Spokesperson of the ministry of health, Dr. Prakash Budhathoki, said that the vaccination campaign was conducted to prevent people from being infected with the polio virus. #nepal #polio #virus
