Pakistan on Tuesday evinced interest in importing the cholera vaccine tested and introduced in India in 2009.
"We did not know about such a vaccine. Now that we do, I will inform my government about the possibility of using it," said Pakistan Medical Research Council executive director Huma Qureshi.
"Cholera is an issue in Pakistan and we have ignored it for far too long for fear of global stigma," she said.
Qureshi was here to attend the fourth meeting of the South Asian Forum for Health Research, a group of eight nations with common health challenges.
The Cholera vaccine introduced with the help of Seoul's International Vaccine Institute was tested in India first in 2009 in Kolkata. India's department of Biotechnology has since developed a new vaccine, said V. M. Katoch, Secretary, Health Research.
The vaccine was introduced in Orissa recently as the state had seen several cholera outbreaks in the past.
Talking about polio, Qureshi said Pakistan was vaccinating people on every entry and exit point in the country. Incidentally, India which is now polio-free for the past one year had started polio vaccination at the entry points with Pakistan, to avoid its entry into India.
She said Pakistan had stepped up surveillance on its borders.