For the first time in history, environmental samples for polio in Pakistan came back negative, officials said, which shows a sign of progress in the country’s ongoing fight against the debilitating disease. In April, the World Health Organization supervised the collection of 40 samples, which were then sent to the National Health Institute to be analyzed. In 2015, 22 percent of the samples taken tested positive for polio, which decreased to 9 percent in the first quarter of 2016. Dr. Rana Safdar, head of the National Emergency Operation Center, said that April’s negative samples were a “significant achievement” but “consistent efforts” would need to be used to ensure polio’s eradication.

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