Karachi's polio woes continue with latest infection

                                                                                         

By Mukhtar Alam  

KARACHI: Yet another case of polio infection has been detected in a 38-month-old girl living in Keamari district, seemingly a low-immunity profile locality of the port city, highlighting concerns over non-conducive attitudes among families and polio campaign runners.  

The new case takes the Sindh tally to four and 21 nationwide this year. A source claimed that stool samples collected from the girl did not show any presence of the polio virus, and she could only be declared a positive case through her contact cases. Her siblings tested negative, but one of her three cousins had a polio-positive stool sample.

Experts fear the baby was presented to healthcare professionals late, around mid-August, after onset of the disease. Ideal stool sample collection should occur within 14 days of illness onset. The child initially experienced limb weakness, while the virus-positive contact showed no paralysis.

Investigation and underlying factors: The Sindh Health Department has initiated an investigation into the new reported case to identify underlying factors. The baby recently moved from Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the department. Earlier, Keamari, Hyderabad, and Shikarpur districts reported one case each.

Polio protection and surveillance efforts: Experts say the latest cases reveal ineffective polio protection, surveillance, and control efforts despite frequent sub-national anti-polio campaigns and a high-profile fractional inactivated polio vaccine (fIPV) campaign in Karachi's high-risk areas in August. Polio virus has consistently been detected in Karachi's sewage samples over the past year, amidst claims of intensified efforts, particularly in high-risk populations.

Government commitment and new cases: On September 20, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah assured a foreign dignitary of the provincial government's commitment to eradicating polio, citing successful vaccination of children from 5,000 previously resistant families. On September 21, two new cases of paralysis, along with the Karachi case, were reported in children from Killah Abdullah (Balochistan) and Mohmand (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

Challenges in vaccination: Sources revealed the infected child lives in an area with clusters of families from KP's hard-to-access areas, holding strong myths against OPV and other vaccines. Family members were not unanimous about administering polio vaccines in the past. Vaccination records will be checked to assess polio workers' and social mobilisers' efforts.

 

With an uninterrupted 23-year career in daily journalism (1991-2013), the author/editor of this blog currently serves as Editor of Social Track, a weekly newspaper focused on social sectors, based in Karachi. Holding a master's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Karachi (1990), his professional experience includes roles as senior reporter at Daily Dawn, Karachi (May 2001-August 2013) and Chief Reporter at The News International, Karachi (April 1991-May 2001). He has a strong background in development journalism, he has an extensive portfolio of news stories, analytical reports and features covering a wide range of sectors. He has had the privilege of covering numerous high-profile figures, including Pakistani presidents, prime ministers, army chiefs, foreign dignitaries, and VVIPs and attending conferences and workshops abroad. He began his journalism career in the early 1980s. Throughout his career, he has received several national awards from government and private organisations. He has contributed to various radio and TV/channel broadcasts and has also served as a trainer at workshops in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, focused on training journalists.

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