Pakistan reported one new polio case in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Monday, raising the year’s total to 68, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a statement.
Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic; The disease mainly affects children under five years of age and sometimes causes lifelong paralysis. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as safety concerns, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation have slowed progress.
On Saturday, wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was detected in environmental samples taken in 26 already infected districts.
“The Regional Polio Eradication Reference Laboratory of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Monday confirmed the detection of the 68th case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) of 2024 in the country in DI Khan,” says the release.
Pakistan is responding to the resurgence of WPV1 this year. Of the cases, 27 are from Balochistan, 20 from KP, 19 from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Polio is a crippling disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completing the routine vaccination schedule for all children under five years of age are essential to provide children with high immunity against this terrible disease.
The Pakistan Polio Program carries out multiple mass vaccination campaigns in a year, bringing the vaccine to children at their doorsteps, while the Expanded Program on Immunization provides vaccines against 12 childhood diseases for free at health centres. It is essential that parents ensure the vaccination of all their children under five years of age to keep them protected.
A sub-national polio vaccination campaign was carried out in Punjab, Sindh, KP, AJK, GB and Islamabad from December 16 to 22, vaccinating more than 42 million children.
The second phase of the campaign began today in Balochistan. Inamul Haq, coordinator of Balochistan Emergency Operation Centre, said on Sunday that the vaccination drive will be carried out in 36 districts of the province.
