Pakistan reports 43rd polio case, Vaccination campaign continues
In a follow-up on the surge of polio cases in Pakistan this year, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of the 43rd Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) case in Pakistan.
On Wednesday, 30 October 2024, the lab confirmed detection of Type-1 Wild Poliovirus in a child from Chagai District of Balochistan.
This is thefirst polio case from Chagai and the 43rd case from Pakistan at large this year. So far, 22 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, seven from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the child is underway.
A nationwide polio vaccination campaign is currently ongoing in the country from 28 October till 3 November, aiming to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five against polio.
Pakistan is one of the two polio endemic countries in the world. Afghanistan, the other endemic country, has reported 23 WPV1 cases.
