Test confirms poliovirus found in sample of Tukucha sewage not contagious

KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 15: It has been confirmed that the poliovirus found in a sample from the sewage of the Tukucha rivulet in Kathmandu last July is not contagious. Lily Shrestha, the Medical Chief at the National Public Health Laboratory, explained that tests conducted in Bangkok confirmed the virus found in the sample was not infectious.

The ongoing tests conducted periodically from various sewage and water sources showed no further signs of the virus spreading. If the virus had spread, it would have been detected in the sewage mixed in the rivulet, but this was not the case, she explained.

The polio virus was first detected in a sample from the confluence of the Bagmati and Tukucha rivulets near Tripureshwar, Kathmandu. Since the detection, Dr. Abhiyan Gautam, Chief of the Child Health and Immunization Section at the Department of Health Services, reported that a total of 13 samples were collected and tested, but no further traces of the poliovirus were found. This routine testing has been ongoing since 2017, with samples collected twice a month from rivers in Kathmandu, including the Bagmati, Dhobikhola, Manahara, and Bishnumati, as well as monthly tests in other cities like Pokhara, Biratnagar, and Janakpur.

Dr. Gautam reassured that Nepal has not reported a case of polio since 2010, confirming the country remains polio-free​