‘Polio likely to rise in Pakistan’

Experts say bacterial meningitis kills as many as 25,000 children a year in country

There is a likelihood of a rise in polio cases in Pakistan later this year due to the disruption in vaccination as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, warned Maria Carmen B Nievera, a medical expert at biopharmaceutical company Sanofi, on Saturday.

She expressed these views during the third paediatric vaccine conference organised virtually by Sanofi Pakistan.

Besides, Professor Sajid Maqbool, a professor emeritus of the Institute of Child Health, said the data collected during the Expanded Programme for Immunisation reflected that bacterial meningitis claimed the lives of 23,000 to 25,000 children annually in Pakistan. He also pointed to the high risk of disabilities and rapid progression to death among children less than a year old due to meningococcal disease.

Balochistan reports 5th polio case, raising Pakistan’s tally to 27 this year

Speaking about diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccine coverage in the country, Professor Haroon Hamid of King Edward Medical University raised concern over Pakistan having the third highest number of unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children against the conditions.

Meanwhile, Dr Ali Faisal Saleem of Aga Khan University Hospital discussed vaccine refusals and delays in vaccine acceptance, low vaccination coverage and the need for developing strategies to address low vaccine coverage in the country.

Other speakers, from Pakistan and elsewhere, also spoke during the conference.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2020.