Pakistan sees uptick in polio cases as over 1 million children miss vaccination shots

Polio is resurging in Pakistan, with officials reporting more than a dozen new cases in October, raising this year’s total to 39.

This marks a sharp increase from just six cases last year, as the South Asian nation appeared close to eliminating the virus.  Officials attributed the recent spike to low vaccine uptake, with over 1 million children missing their polio doses in September.

Ayesha Raza, the Focal Person to the Pakistani Prime Minister on Polio Eradication, said, “The existing immunity gap has worsened since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted vaccination efforts.”

Polio, a highly infectious disease affecting children under five, can cause paralysis and even death. It spreads primarily through contaminated food and water and has no cure, though it can be prevented with vaccines.

Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the last two countries where polio is endemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Efforts to vaccinate children have faced resistance, with misinformation and distrust of healthcare providers hindering progress.

Allegations that a fake vaccination programme was used in the US hunt for Osama bin Laden in 2011 further exacerbated public skepticism.

Most of the recent cases are concentrated in Balochistan province, where parents are reluctant to vaccinate their children. Many of the infected children were partially vaccinated but did not complete the required four doses.

Raza said the number of cases is expected to rise as surveillance efforts increase. “A lot of work is being done to fill the gaps we’ve missed in the past,” she noted.

The spike in cases coincides with increased violence against polio vaccination workers. In Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, there have been 27 attacks on polio workers this year, according to local police.

Militants, who claim that vaccines are a Western conspiracy, have targeted polio campaigns for years. In September, militants killed a police officer guarding a vaccination site in Bannu and a polio worker and police officer in Bajaur.

Despite these setbacks, Pakistani authorities are optimistic. A new nationwide polio vaccination campaign, set to begin on October 28, aims to inoculate 45 million children under the age of five.

“Polio eradication is Pakistan’s top priority,” the Polio Eradication Programme stated, with a unified plan in place to end transmission by 2025.