New Polio Case in KP Raises Last Year’s Total to 69
New Polio Case in KP Raises Last Year’s Total to 69
Pakistan reported a new polio case in Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Wednesday, bringing the previous year’s total to 69, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries where polio is still a problem, mainly affecting children under five and sometimes leading to permanent paralysis. Preventing the virus faces security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation.
The NIH statement confirmed the 69th case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) for 2024. The lab identified a case from Tank on January 7, marking it as the fifth case from that district this year.
Since last year, Pakistan has been addressing the rise of WPV1, with 69 cases reported. Among these, 27 are from Balochistan, 21 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19 from Sindh, and one from Punjab and Islamabad.
Polio is a disease that causes paralysis and has no cure. To protect children under five, giving them multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completing their vaccination schedule is crucial.
The first polio vaccination campaign of the year will occur across the country from February 3 to 9, 2025. Parents must welcome vaccinators and ensure their children receive the vaccine to keep them safe.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Afghanistan had 25 polio cases in 2024, while Pakistan reported 68 cases of the disease. The situation remains urgent as the results from last year’s sample collections are still pending.
A senior official from Pakistan’s Polio Programme stated that Pakistan is committed to transparency in reporting, and its system is more effective than Afghanistan’s. This suggests that Afghanistan may have underreported its cases.
The Pakistan Polio Programme runs several mass vaccination campaigns annually, delivering vaccines directly to children’s homes. The Expanded Programme on Immunisation offers free vaccinations against 12 childhood diseases at health facilities.
Recently, a sub-national polio vaccination campaign took place in Punjab, Sindh, KP, AJK, GB, and Islamabad from December 16 to 22, successfully vaccinating over 42 million children.
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