Rise in polio cases

Sindh EOC (Polio) Coordinator Irshad Ali Sodhar visiting a recently confirmed WPV-1 positive case, a 29-month-old boy, in Hyderabad district.

The long ongoing national struggle against polio virus got another jolt, as health authorities confirmed a new case for 2024 in an eight-year-old boy living in the capital city of Islamabad, taking the country’s polio cases tally to 17, compared to total six of 2023.

Reacting to the surge in polio cases, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) labelled it horrible and raised concern over the efficacy of the national polio eradication programme. The PMA stated that the massive increase in cases was a grave public health concern.

Today, Pakistan is one of two leftover polio endemic countries in the world along with Afghanistan, which has reported 18 cases so far this year. The increase in polio case figures indicates that Pakistani children are not safe from contracting the dreaded virus and disease, despite continued efforts made in coordination with foreign institutions in terms of financing and technical assistance.

No doubt, the disease immunity gap among children is outspreading again, calling for another review of target population, interventions and indicators for attaining zero-polio status.

The country needs to ensure that the frequently conducted campaigns are reaching every OPV deserving child in every nook and corner of the country. Apart from supplementary immunisation activities, there is a pressing need to check the quality of routine immunisation against vaccine preventable diseases. At the same time, an enhanced surveillance, detection and response capacity should be taken as the cornerstone.

This is high time for authorities to also find out the frontline polio workers and the routine government vaccinators are motivated and dutiful, standing up to the mark, and are safe. Moreover, the health managers are expected to be fully equipped to get rid of misconceptions related to polio vaccination.

Editorial/Social Track, weekly, Karachi.

IV Desk adds: As of October 2, Pakistan’s polio tally has hit 28 for 2024 –Balochistan (16), Sindh (7), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (3), Punjab (1) and Islamabad Capital Territory (1).