M. Waqar Bhatti
Polio has crippled another child in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bringing the total number of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan this year to 68, officials of the Polio Eradication Initiative said on Monday.
The latest case, confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), is the 10th from DI Khan in 2024. Of the total cases, Balochistan has reported 27, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 20, Sindh with 19, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure, health officials emphasized, adding that multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) and completing the routine immunization schedule for children under five are critical to providing them high immunity against the virus.
To combat the resurgence of the disease, Pakistan’s Polio Program has conducted multiple mass vaccination drives this year. A sub-national campaign held from December 16–22 vaccinated over 42 million children across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Islamabad. The second phase of the campaign began Monday in Balochistan.
The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) also continues to provide free vaccines against 12 childhood diseases, including polio, at health facilities nationwide. Officials urged parents to ensure their children under five are vaccinated during door-to-door drives and routine immunization sessions to protect them from lifelong disability caused by polio.
“Vaccination is the only effective way to safeguard children from this devastating disease,” a senior health official said, appealing to communities to welcome vaccinators and bring their children forward for immunization.