Lab testing confirmed a child in Pakistan’s Khyber Agency, Federally Administered Tribal Area was infected with wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3). This discovery has important implications for polio eradication of this strain as the last WPV3 case in Asia was in November 2010. Of the three polio strains, WPV1 is the most widespread, WPV2 has been eradicated, and WPV3 is primarily in Asia where cases have been declining. The detection of WPV3 raises the spectre of its potential spread to other parts of Asia. Pakistan is one of only four remaining polio-endemic countries. For current data on global polio cases this year, visit the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
