Pakistan reports four new polio cases in deepening crisis

QUETTA: Pakistan has reported four new cases of poliovirus in its southwestern Balochistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces, authorities said on Friday, amid an outbreak of the crippling disease.
The Emergency Operations Center for Polio confirmed the detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in three children in the Chaman, Pishin and Nushki districts of Balochistan, and one child in KP’s Lakki Marwat district, bringing the nationwide tally to 37 this year.
Speaking to Arab News, Inam-ul-Haque, a provincial coordinator for polio in Balochistan, said the children affected by the virus in the latest cases aged between 9 months and five years.
“We are very much focused on the quality of our next [vaccination] campaigns because the pressure is high due to the rapid number of polio cases,” he said.
Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan which shares its border with Afghanistan and Iran has reported the highest 20 polio cases this year, according to the official.
“Two nationwide anti-polio drives are scheduled for the last week of October and December [in Balochistan],” Haque told Arab News. “We have set a target to re-launch the next campaigns in January and February 2025.”
There is no cure for polio, and paralysis caused by an infection is irreversible, according to the Pakistan polio program. Apart from the nationwide polio campaign from October 28, a major initiative, led by the expanded program for immunization, is also underway in targeted districts to vaccinate those children against 12 childhood diseases, including polio, who have missed their doses or have not completed their vaccination course.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains an endemic. Since late 2018, Pakistan has seen a resurgence of cases and increased spread of poliovirus, highlighting the fragility of gains achieved in the preceding three years.