Three more polio cases confirmed in K-P, two in Sindh

PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate the poliovirus were dealt yet another blow on Sunday as three more cases were confirmed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and two in Sindh.

Officials associated with the country's polio eradication programme confirmed three new cases in Hangu, North Waziristan and Bannu in K-P, and two cases in Hyderabad, Sindh.

The total number of polio cases in Pakistan this year now stands at 58.

Of these 58 cases, a total of 44 have been reported in K-P and, alarmingly, 32 of the province's polio cases have been confirmed in Bannu Division.

The confirmation of the new cases comes just a day before immunisation campaigns are to commence in K-P, Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh.

In K-P, vaccinators will cover 26 districts while seven districts have been marked out for a special immunisation campaign in Balochistan.

The seven-day campaign in Balochistan has been divided into phases. It will start in Quetta and Pishin on August 26; in Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Jhal Magsi and Sohbat Pur from August 28; and in Qila Abdullah on September 2.

Fake polio markers highlight risks to Pakistan vaccination drive

According to Rashid Razzaq, the EOC Balochistan coordinator, the special immunisation campaign holds significance in the wake of the recent confirmation of four more cases in Balochistan.

Two of the recent cases were from Qila Abdullah, while one each was reported in Quetta and Jaffarabad.

Polio campaign officials have issued a request to all parents to not pay any heed to the continuing false and negative propaganda against the polio vaccine.

"Refusal and fake marking of children are the major reasons for the increasing number of cases reported in Pakistan. Vaccination is essential for us to safeguard the future of our children and every Pakistani has to play their part in this mission," read a statement issued on the latest polio immunisation campaign.

Pakistan is one of just three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, that have endemic polio, a once-common childhood virus that can cause paralysis or death.

The country’s success follows an intense programme based around vaccinating vulnerable children.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), polio has been all but wiped out across the world following a sustained vaccination campaign, with only 22 cases reported in 2017 against more than 350,000 in 1988.