PESHAWAR (TDI): Pakistan’s polio eradication program announced on Tuesday that three new polio cases of the crippling virus had been detected, bringing the total number of polio cases in the country for 2024 to 59.
Pakistan, alongside neighboring Afghanistan, remains one of the last two polio-endemic countries in the world. This surge in cases has raised concerns and prompted officials to reassess their strategies for eliminating the disease.
The next nationwide polio vaccination campaign is scheduled for mid-December, aiming to reach over 44 million children.
However, Pakistan’s efforts to tackle the disease have faced significant setbacks, including the refusal of some parents to vaccinate their children. Last month, the country’s chief health officer stated that an estimated 500,000 children had missed vaccination during a recent national drive due to these refusals.
The National Emergency Operation Center for Polio Eradication confirmed that the newly detected cases were caused by the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).
The affected areas include DI Khan, Karachi Keamari, and Kashmore. DI Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), now has eight reported polio cases. Karachi Keamari has three cases, while Kashmore reported its first case of the year.
So far in 2024, Balochistan has reported 26 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 16, Sindh 15, and Punjab and Islamabad have reported one case each.
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Polio, a virus that causes irreversible paralysis, particularly in young children, remains a major health threat until fully eradicated. While global immunization campaigns have largely succeeded, Pakistan continues to face persistent challenges.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan recorded around 20,000 polio cases annually, but by 2018, the number had dropped to just eight. There were only six reported cases in 2023, and one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts, which began in 1994, have been hindered by vaccine misinformation, opposition from certain religious groups, and frequent attacks on polio vaccination teams by militant groups.
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In 2019, a vaccination campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was disrupted by rumors that children were suffering from adverse reactions to the vaccine.
Studies have shown that factors such as maternal illiteracy, limited parental knowledge about vaccines, poverty, and rural living conditions also play a role in the continued refusal to vaccinate children against polio in Pakistan.
