Pakistan: Another wild poliovirus case reported from Balochistan
49 WPV1 confirmed cases reported in the country year to date
In Pakistan, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad today confirmed the detection of another wild poliovirus (WPV1) case in the country.
The case is from Jaffarabad district of Balochistan, bringing the number of total cases in the country to 49 this year. This compares to six cases reported last year.
This is the first polio case from Jaffarabad which shares a border with Nasirabad and Jhal Magsi districts in Balochistan and Jacobabad and Kambar districts in Sindh, all of which have reported WPV1 in sewage samples or human cases in recent months, indicating wider circulation of the virus.
Genetic sequencing of the virus isolated from collected samples indicates it is genetically linked to WPV1 detected in Pishin in April 2024.
Balochistan is the most affected province this year with 24 reported cases, while 13 have been reported from Sindh province, 10 from KP and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Polio is a crippling and potentially deadly disease that affects the nervous system. Good hand washing practices can help prevent the spread of this disease. Because the virus that causes polio lives in the feces (poop) of an infected person, people infected with the disease can spread it to others when they do not wash their hands well after defecating (pooping). People can also be infected if they drink water or eat food contaminated with infected feces.
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Most people with polio do not feel sick. Some people have only minor symptoms, such as fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, stiffness in the neck and back, and pain in the arms and legs. In rare cases, polio infection causes permanent loss of muscle function (paralysis). Polio can be fatal if the muscles used for breathing are paralyzed or if there is an infection of the brain.
Polio has no cure. The oral polio vaccine offers the best protection and is delivered to citizens’ doorsteps in multiple vaccination rounds in a year.
Officials urge all parents and caregivers to ensure multiple doses of the polio vaccine for their children and completion of their routine vaccination schedule for added protection from disease.