ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continues to grapple with circumstances of polio with the nation together with neighbouring Afghanistan being the one two international locations on the planet the place the poliovirus continues to be an endemic.
On August 10, the 14th polio case of the 12 months was reported from Qilla Saifullah district of Balochistan boosting the variety of poliovirus circumstances within the nation to 13 for the 12 months 2024.The nation has reported three extra cases- two in Balochistan and one in Punjab province.
Since 2015, Pakistan has reported a complete of 362 polio circumstances, as per a report in Al Jazeera.
Nonetheless, regardless of administering greater than 300 million doses of oral vaccine yearly with the assistance of at the very least 350,000 vaccinators and an expenditure of over USD 9.3 bn from 2013 to 2023, the nation has been unable to eradicate polio, the Qatar-based publication stated.
The extremely infectious Polio illness has no or delicate signs and might trigger paralysis of the limbs. Polio is transmitted by way of contaminated water or meals, or contact with an contaminated particular person. Remedy contains mattress relaxation, ache relievers, rehabilitation and transportable ventilators.
Dr Hamid Jafari, WHO‘s regional director of polio eradication was cited by Al-Jazeera as saying that the problem exists in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. “That is the place there’s a variety of militancy, insecurity and group hostility and frustration in direction of the federal government due to battle and a scarcity of providers,” Jafari stated.
Over 50 districts throughout Pakistan are detecting the virus, he stated.
Compounding to the challenges is the very fact, says the WHO official that not solely is the polio programme being focused but in addition safety personnel which can be guarding the groups “as a result of they change into comfortable targets when they’re locally.”
At the least 102 polio discipline staff, officers and safety personnel have been killed, together with at the very least six in campaigns carried out this 12 months, the Al Jazeera report cited.
In the meantime, the most recent sufferer is an 11-month-old toddler from Qila, in Balochistan who has succumbed to paralysis attributable to the wild poliovirus.
The kid from Qila who displayed signs of paralysis on July 17, is among the many 5 circumstances detected within the district. Different circumstances in Balochistan have been reported in Chaman, Quetta, Zhob, Dera Bugti, and Jhal Magsi as per a report within the Balochistan Put up.
In Balochistan, the state of affairs is compounded by a current historical past of insufficient vaccination protection and chronic misconceptions in regards to the vaccine. Regardless of quite a few vaccination campaigns, efforts have struggled to maintain tempo with the precise variety of infections, the publication said.
On August 10, the 14th polio case of the 12 months was reported from Qilla Saifullah district of Balochistan boosting the variety of poliovirus circumstances within the nation to 13 for the 12 months 2024.The nation has reported three extra cases- two in Balochistan and one in Punjab province.
Since 2015, Pakistan has reported a complete of 362 polio circumstances, as per a report in Al Jazeera.
Nonetheless, regardless of administering greater than 300 million doses of oral vaccine yearly with the assistance of at the very least 350,000 vaccinators and an expenditure of over USD 9.3 bn from 2013 to 2023, the nation has been unable to eradicate polio, the Qatar-based publication stated.
The extremely infectious Polio illness has no or delicate signs and might trigger paralysis of the limbs. Polio is transmitted by way of contaminated water or meals, or contact with an contaminated particular person. Remedy contains mattress relaxation, ache relievers, rehabilitation and transportable ventilators.
Dr Hamid Jafari, WHO‘s regional director of polio eradication was cited by Al-Jazeera as saying that the problem exists in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. “That is the place there’s a variety of militancy, insecurity and group hostility and frustration in direction of the federal government due to battle and a scarcity of providers,” Jafari stated.
Over 50 districts throughout Pakistan are detecting the virus, he stated.
Compounding to the challenges is the very fact, says the WHO official that not solely is the polio programme being focused but in addition safety personnel which can be guarding the groups “as a result of they change into comfortable targets when they’re locally.”
At the least 102 polio discipline staff, officers and safety personnel have been killed, together with at the very least six in campaigns carried out this 12 months, the Al Jazeera report cited.
In the meantime, the most recent sufferer is an 11-month-old toddler from Qila, in Balochistan who has succumbed to paralysis attributable to the wild poliovirus.
The kid from Qila who displayed signs of paralysis on July 17, is among the many 5 circumstances detected within the district. Different circumstances in Balochistan have been reported in Chaman, Quetta, Zhob, Dera Bugti, and Jhal Magsi as per a report within the Balochistan Put up.
In Balochistan, the state of affairs is compounded by a current historical past of insufficient vaccination protection and chronic misconceptions in regards to the vaccine. Regardless of quite a few vaccination campaigns, efforts have struggled to maintain tempo with the precise variety of infections, the publication said.
