Pakistan reports 2 additional polio cases
In Afghanistan, the Taliban suspends polio vaccination campaigns
Pakistan
In a follow-up on the polio situation in Pakistan, health officials reported two additional wild polio virus cases (WPV-1) in recent days.
On Thursday, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at NIH has notified the case from Kohat where a 10-month-old child has been paralyzed, marking the second case from the province and 23rd from the country in 2024.
On Friday, Pakistan has reported the 24th polio case of the year in a 29-month-old boy in Hyderabad district of Sindh province.
To date, cases have been reported from the following provinces: 15 from Balochistan, five from Sindh, two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Expressing sadness at the increasing number of paralytic polio cases, Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ms Ayesha Raza Farooq has called on parents and communities to fulfil their duty of care and make sure that polio vaccination is given as a priority for children.
“Polio has no cure, yet it is entirely preventable with the help of an easily accessible vaccine that the government provides to families at their doorsteps,” she said. “As parents, grandparents, guardians and communities, we have a moral and religious responsibility towards our children to ensure that they have every opportunity to live their life in the best of health.”
Help support this news blog. If you can, please become a paid subscriber or buy a coffee at Ko-fi
She added: “Poliovirus will not discriminate. It will attack any vulnerable child it finds anywhere. We must urgently ensure that every child under our care is repeatedly receiving the polio vaccine and has received all doses of routine immunization so that they are strong enough to fight off polio.”
There was a recently concluded polio campaign in September, during which nearly 33 million children under five were given the crucial polio vaccine in 115 districts of the country. Two more mass vaccination campaigns are planned before the end of the year to bolster immunity in children, particularly those that are most vulnerable.
Afghanistan
The Associated Press reports via the United Nations that The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan.
The announcement was made shortly before the campaign was due to start.
The Guardian reports the suspension is temporary, according to the Taliban, and is due to security fears and the fact that women are involved in administering the vaccine.
Gavi notes, Afghanistan is one of only two countries, alongside neighbouring Pakistan, where polio has continued to spread. So the news that the Taliban have suspended polio vaccination will probably have major consequences for the control of the disease in Afghanistan and the surrounding region.
Afghanistan has reported 19 WPV-1 cases in 2024 to date.
India’s major milestone: one-year polio free