ISLAMABAD: The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has tested sewage samples positive for poliovirus from eight districts as the final nationwide polio eradication campaign is underway while the country has reported 63 polio cases in 2024.
According to Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme as of 17th December 2024, sewage samples collected from Charsadda, DI Khan, Rawalpindi, Kambar, Jamshoro, Qilla Saifullah, Barkhan and Mastung between November 5 and 20 have tested positive for wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) WPV1.
This is first positive sewage sample detection this year from Charsadda, which borders Peshawar where sewage samples have been positive for several months, indicating continued transmission of WPV1.
This year 63 polio cases have been reported in the country. The resurgence of poliovirus has put children nationwide at serious risk from a disease that can leave them paralysed for life.
On December 13, the NIH confirmed two polio virus cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and two from Sindh. In KPK, one polio case each was detected from DI Khan and Tank districts while in Sindh one polio virus case was detected in District Jacobabad and one in District Sukkur.
This year nine polio cases have been reported from DI Khan, three from Tank, three from Jacobabad, and one from Sukkur.
Pakistan is responding to an intense resurgence of WPV1 this year with 63 cases reported so far. Of these, 26 are from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease.
The Pakistan Polio Programme conducts multiple mass vaccination drives in a year, bringing the vaccine to children at their doorsteps, while the Expanded Programme on Immunization provides vaccinations against 12 childhood disease free of charge at health facilities. It is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all their children under the age of five to keep them protected.
A large-scale polio vaccination campaign is being held in the country from December 16 to December 22 during which vaccinators will go house to house to immunise more than 44 million children under five in 143 districts against polio. To keep children safe, it is critical for parents to welcome vaccinators among them and bring their children forward for vaccination.
Polio is incurable, yet entirely preventable with the help of multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine that the Polio Programme brings to children at their doorsteps multiple times a year. Similarly, routine vaccination against 12 childhood preventable diseases, provided free of charge by the Expanded Programme for Immunization, gives additional immunity boost to children to be able to fight off infections such as polio.
The Polio Programme is launching the next mass vaccination campaign from December 16 to 22 to vaccinate more than 44 million children under five in 143 districts with the oral polio vaccine to keep them protected from paralytic polio. It is critical for parents and caregivers to ensure that their children under the age of five receive two drops of the oral polio vaccine whenever a vaccinator knocks on their door to protect children against polio’s paralysing effects.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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