Polio outbreak: Pakistan 12 cases shy of breaking its own record

With three more cases, the number of polio victims has reached 187.

PESHAWAR:

With three more cases confirmed on Wednesday, Pakistan inched closer to the highest number of polio cases ever recorded in the country; 199 recorded in 2000. It is now 12 cases away from breaking its own 14-year-old ‘record’.

The National Institute of Health in Islamabad has confirmed the three new cases, all from Khyber Agency, taking the country’s total to 187.

The first victim is nine-month-old Aliya, daughter of Gulab Khan who is a resident of Kalanga village in Akka Khel. Nadia, 11-month-old daughter of Faqir Hussain, is the second victim who lives in Zarmin Chok village, while the third child is Hazir, a 13-month-old, who lives in Haji Jalandar Kalay village in Akka Khel.

None of the three children had received the polio vaccine.

On the rise

According to health experts, the number of cases is likely to increase to 200 in the remaining months of 2014 as the disease has spread rapidly. Waziristan and Khyber Agency are some of the major areas where children have not been vaccinated, they said.

The experts insist if government plans to eradicate polio, it would have to vaccinate children from these agencies who have not been vaccinated for over three years.

The how and why

An official of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) health department official said polio cases are likely to exceed 200 this year.

The official cited a series of factors which have contributed to the spread of polio in the province.

“Polio workers are unable to access some parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) – such as North and South Waziristan, FR Bannu and Bara, Khyber Agency,” he said.

This is problematic because there are families which continue to live in North Waziristan despite the military offensive, he said. Children in the area have not received polio vaccines.

The absence of coordination between the government and its partner organisations has also contributed to the increase in polio cases, he added.

According to the official, there is a huge gap in coordination between government officials and Unicef officials in K-P and Fata and officials of Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in the health department have admitted to the lack of coordination.

Another reason cited by the health department official for the high incidence of polio in the province is the absence of a clear payment setup for polio workers. Many vaccinators received limited or no payment for their services, he said.

According to him, for the last three months permanent vaccinators have not been paid. The salaries of other vaccinators who work on a daily basis remain marginal, he added. The government pays them only Rs300 to Rs500 per day.

Ray of hope

Unicef’s Immunisation Officer Dr Bilal Ahmad said the government and Unicef have made a concerted effort to eradicate polio from the country. Peshawar, which was once a breeding ground for the virus, has been cleared of the epidemic. The incidence of polio in North Waziristan has also been under control as repeated vaccination campaigns have boosted children’s immunity, he added.

According to the Unicef official, the displacement of families from North Waziristan and the low-transmission season have provided an opportunity for the virus to be controlled. Plans have been implemented for the low transmission season and he hoped that they will be successful in controlling the crippling virus.

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Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2014.