Restrictions imposed on movement of polio victim’s family

Acting WHO in charge denies involvement in issuing ban.

PESHAWAR: Fifteen-month-old Ismail was recently confirmed to have contracted the poliovirus, but is showing promising signs of recovery. However, health officials have placed restrictions on the movement of his family.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, the 15-month-old’s uncle Noor Khitab said officials working with the polio eradication programme informed the family on April 1 that Ismail had contracted the crippling virus. “They noted down our house address and asked us not to relocate from the area until we received medical reports,” he said.

Ismail, whose family hails from Nangarhar province of Afghanistan and have lived in the country for over two decades, had been rushed to Hayatabad Medical Complex on March 14 when he could not move his limbs. Doctors told his parents their son might be suffering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a separate disorder which affects the peripheral nervous system.

The child was kept at the hospital for over 10 days and subsequently discharged. Now, he is said to have recovered 75% and can freely move his limbs.

“During these ten days, Ismail was made to do a series of exercises, using his paralysed limbs,” said Khitab. “He had started showing signs of recovery.”

According to Khitab, the family tried to reason with polio officials when asked not to relocate. “We assured them Ismail had received six doses of polio drops,” he said. “Furthermore, we told officials that even though Ismail had missed a few vaccinations because he was not at home, the other five children in our house had been vaccinated against the virus.”

Nevertheless, Khitab is optimistic about his nephew’s recovery. “Only his right leg has some complications and even then he can bend it a little,” he added.

Root of the matter

Khitab said the official who had restricted the family’s mobility either belonged to WHO or other organisations involved in eradicating polio from the province.

However, WHO has denied having imposed a ban on the movement of the victim’s family, saying the organisation’s technical partners might have imposed these restrictions to determine the origins of the virus in the neighbourhood.

“Ismail’s stool sample indicated he had poliovirus,” a WHO official told The Express Tribune. “The silver lining is only 1 or 2% of victims do not recover from paralysis while the rest show signs of recovery.”

When contacted for an official version, acting WHO in charge in Pakistan Dr Zubair Wadood denied imposing any ban on the family’s movement. “We don’t have the mandate to impose such restrictions,” he added.

Meanwhile, Peshawar DC Riaz Mehsud confirmed Ismail's family was restrained from relocating from the neighbourhood as the area is being monitored for the virus’s prevalence.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2015.