Four new polio cases reported in Pakistan rise to 37 this year

Islamabad/Karachi, Oct 19 (PTI) Pakistan reported four more poliovirus cases, taking the national total to 37 this year, media reported on Saturday.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, on Friday confirmed the detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV 1) in three children from Balochistan and one child from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( KP), according to The Dawn newspaper. reported.
The children affected by wild poliovirus include a girl from Pishin, two boys from Chaman and Noshki in Balochistan and a girl from Lakki Marwat district of KP, according to an official of the regional polio eradication reference laboratory.
Of the 37 cases detected across Pakistan so far this year, the official said, 20 were reported from Balochistan, 10 from Sindh, five from KP and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
“Genetic sequencing of the cases is underway,” he revealed.
“These are the first poliovirus cases in Noshki and Lakki Marwat this year,” he said, adding that Chaman and Pishin had also reported one poliovirus case each earlier.
Officials said the fight against poliovirus in Balochistan and southern KP suffered throughout 2023 and early 2024 as vaccination campaigns were either staggered or postponed due to localized protests, insecurity and community boycotts, leaving a cohort of missed children who could fuel transmission of the virus.
Noshki is located on the border with Afghanistan and borders Quetta and Mastung districts where environmental samples have tested positive for WPV1 in recent months, indicating circulation of the virus, while Lakki Marwat has also reported several environmental samples recently positive.
The increase in the number of active polio cases in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces has led health authorities to investigate reports of a link between some health workers and parents, leading to this that many infants and children are not vaccinated.
“Cases have emerged in Balochistan and KP in particular where some health workers and parents colluded to achieve partial vaccination of infants and children,” said a senior health official.
Pakistan remains one of the few countries in the world where polio remains endemic, and Balochistan in particular is a hotbed of cases.
In recent years, the government, in collaboration with international organizations such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), has launched numerous polio vaccination campaigns across the province.
Dr Wakeel Rana of the Balochistan health department said health workers and parents were failing to achieve successful eradication.
“We will not be able to completely eradicate polio among infants and children without everyone’s cooperation,” he said.
The number of polio cases rose to 20 in Balochistan and the health official said an initial investigation showed that in many cases health workers and parents had left vaccination campaigns incomplete.
According to data from Pakistan’s polio eradication program, Sindh reported 10 cases. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded five cases, and Punjab and Islamabad have each confirmed one case this year.
The resurgence of polio in these regions comes despite continued vaccination efforts.
The Ministry of Health said that since January 2022, a total of $447 million has been spent on polio eradication efforts, of which $80 million will be allocated for 2024.
A national polio vaccination campaign will be launched on October 28 to vaccinate more than 45 million children under the age of five against paralytic polio, according to Dawn.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio remains endemic, according to the World Health Organization. PTI SH CORR AMS GSP

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