Hyderabad reports Pakistan's 24th polio case for 2024
A health worker administers oral polio vaccine to a child at a slum in Karachi. PHOTO: APP/FILE
The 24th polio case of the year has been reported from Hyderabad district in Sindh, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for polio eradication.
The latest case involves a 29-month-old child, bringing the total number of cases in Sindh to five for this year.
Ayesha Raza Farooq, spokesperson for the EOC, confirmed that a comprehensive roadmap has been developed to curb the spread of the polio virus. Special measures are being implemented to ensure that children in high-risk districts receive the necessary vaccines.
Raza Farooq also announced that the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PEI) are launching a joint initiative called the ‘Big Catch-Up’ campaign. This initiative aims to vaccinate children who have missed previous immunisation rounds and protect them from life-threatening diseases.
Last week, over 11,000 children could not be administered polio drops by the end of the eight-day anti-polio drive in Hyderabad district as most of the children were reportedly not present at homes.
A report in this regard compiled at the end of this month's anti-polio campaign, conducted with the collaboration of the district administration and the health department under WHO, has been sent to the relevant authorities.
According to the report, a total of 11,704 children under five in the district were unable to receive the polio drops during the eight-day anti-polio campaign. This includes 10,913 children who were not present at home, while 791 parents refused to vaccinate their children.
According to statistics by Pakistan Polio Eradicztion Program, Sindh has now recorded five polio cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) two, Punjab one, and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) one case in 2024. Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir have reported zero cases this year.
Balochistan's sharp increase from zero cases in 2023 to 15 in 2024 is a matter of concern for health authorities.
Sindh, which recorded two cases in 2023, has seen a slight increase to five cases this year, while KP and Punjab have reported a decrease compared to previous years.