Polio concerns.

THE fact that vaccine-derived poliovirus has been detected in London's sewage samples for the first time in 40 years should send alarm bells ringing locally, especially after British health authorities have said the virus may have been 'imported'. Pakistan may be one of the sources of the virus found in the UK, though it should be added that vaccine-derived polio is found in 22 countries, and results of genome sequencing will better explain the origins of the virus. Moreover, all the cases reported in Pakistan this year have been of wild poliovirus, not the vaccine-derived variant. That said, Pakistan's health authorities need to be on their toes, for if the London samples are found to be linked to this country, the consequences, particularly for Pakistanis wanting to travel abroad, as well as the country's reputation, could be grim. It is indeed unfortunate that while nearly all countries of the world have managed to eradicate polio, Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the 'final frontiers' where this crippling ailment has not been eliminated.

The results of Pakistan's anti-polio efforts over the past few...