Islamabad, Aug 23 (IANS): Pakistan reported another case of poliovirus after a child was paralysed in the Sindh province, increasing the country's total tally to 16 in 2024, an official told the media on Friday.
An official from the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad said that the wild Poliovirus type-1 (WPV1) was confirmed in a 29-month-old girl from Hyderabad district of the province, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the official, poliovirus traces have been reported in 62 districts of the South Asian country so far this year, a significant increase from 28 districts last year.
"This is the first polio case from Hyderabad and the third from Sindh, and the 16th case in Pakistan this year," said the NIH official, adding that 12 cases were reported from the southwestern Balochistan province, three from Sindh, and one from the eastern Punjab province.
Prime Minister's Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq said, "The latest case is a clear reminder that until we eradicate this virus from our country, no child anywhere is safe from its devastating effects."
She added that WPV1 was consistently being reported in sewage samples of Hyderabad for the last four months, reiterating the continued risk of polio circulating anywhere in the country.
"We are operating on an emergency footing in all provinces given the intensity of the outbreak and extent of virus spread. The polio program has been implementing a comprehensive roadmap to interrupt virus transmission, beginning with an extensive, large-scale polio vaccination campaign from September 9," she said.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Anwar-ul-Haq, coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, said a thorough investigation was being conducted to identify the origins of the virus and immunisation of children.
“Poliovirus has been circulating in adjacent districts of Karachi and Hyderabad for several months,” he said.
"Every child's wellbeing is important to us, and we will be launching a vaccination campaign in all affected districts from September 9 to boost children's immunity."
Polio has been eliminated in developed nations but persists in parts of India, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Many Pakistanis, particularly those residing in the conservative tribal areas, consider polio vaccination a Western campaign aimed at sterilising the country's population. In 2012, the local Taliban ordered a ban on immunisation against polio in some tribal districts.
Nearly a dozen policemen have been killed this year while on security duty during vaccination campaigns which are frequently targeted by militants.