- विज्ञापन -
Islamabad: Pakistan has confirmed two new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1), increasing the total for 2025 to five cases, as reported by Dawn. The latest cases were identified in Sindh and Punjab, specifically in Kambar and Mandi Bahauddin, respectively. A representative from the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health noted that this marks the third case from Sindh and the first from Punjab this year.
Previously, three cases were reported in 2025, originating from Badin and Larkana in Sindh, as well as Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The rise in poliovirus cases is concerning, with 74 cases documented in 2024—27 from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 23 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Earlier this month, Pakistan conducted its first nationwide polio vaccination campaign, followed by a fractional IPV-OPV campaign in Quetta and Karachi on February 20 and 22, respectively. On February 2, authorities in Quetta detained five individuals for refusing to vaccinate their children against polio. Assistant Commissioner Maria Shamooun, along with a vaccination team, visited various neighborhoods, successfully persuading reluctant parents to vaccinate 15 children, while those who continued to refuse were arrested.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that spreads primarily through person-to-person contact via the faecal-oral route or through contaminated food and water. Initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and limb pain. While one in 200 infections can lead to irreversible paralysis, particularly in the legs, 5-10% of those paralyzed may die due to immobilization of their respiratory muscles. Children under five are primarily affected, but anyone unvaccinated can contract the disease. There is no cure for polio; it can only be prevented through vaccination, which is available in two forms: the oral polio vaccine and the inactivated polio vaccine.
