Three more polio cases confirmed

In a troubling development, three more polio cases have emerged, taking the total number of polio cases reported so far in the country to 55.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed the detection of three wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases.

These cases have emerged from DI Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Zhob and Jaffarabad districts of Balochistan. In DI Khan and Zhob, female children are affected while in Jaffarabad the crippling disease has attacked a male child.

DI Khan, one of the seven polio endemic districts of southern K-P, has so far reported six polio cases, while this is the third case this year from Zhob and second from Jaffarabad.

Pakistan is responding to an intense resurgence of WPV1 this year. Of the 55 cases reported so far, 26 are from Balochistan, 14 from the K-P, 13 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure.

Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide children high immunity against this disease.

The Pakistan Polio Programme conducts multiple mass vaccination drives in a year, bringing the vaccine to children at their doorsteps, while the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) provides vaccinations against 12 childhood diseases free of charge at health facilities every year.

Considering the intense polio outbreak, it is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all their children under the age of five to keep them protected.