Latest news with #RegionalReferenceLaboratoryforPolioEradication
Business Recorder
5 days ago
- Health
- Business Recorder
G-B: 1st wild poliovirus case of year reported
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday reported first wild poliovirus case in District Diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), a region which was considered polio virus free for years. According to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), a new case of wild poliovirus was reported in District Diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan. This is the first case of wild poliovirus reported from Gilgit-Baltistan and the 11th confirmed case in Pakistan this year. The third nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025, which began on 26 May, concluded Sunday. The campaign successfully reached over 45 million children under five years of age across 159 districts, including high-risk areas of the country. Polio is a highly infectious and debilitating disease with no cure. The only way to protect children is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine for all children under five as well as the timely completion of all vaccines offered as part of the essential immunisation schedule. The programme is calling on all parents to ensure their children do not miss out on any opportunity to receive polio drops. Every dose of polio vaccine provides an opportunity to further strengthen immunity and protection against lifelong paralysis. With polio still a threat, community support is vital—no child should be missed. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan reports its first polio case
Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan has reported its first polio case of the year, even as a vaccination team escaped unhurt in an armed attack in the region, an official said on Monday. The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed the new case of wild poliovirus in Gilgit-Baltistan's Diamer district. Gilgit Baltistan Health Secretary, Asifullah Khan, said that a 23-month-old child was diagnosed with poliovirus in the Tangir area of the district, adding that the virus strain originated from Karachi's Liaquatabad area. He said it was not clear how the child was infected as he had not travelled out of the Tangir area. This is the first case of wild poliovirus reported from Gilgit-Baltistan and the 11th confirmed case in Pakistan this year, according to the country's Polio Eradication Programme. Before the latest case, Gilgit-Baltistan was declared a polio-free zone. The case surfaced after the third nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025, which began on May 26, concluded on Sunday after successfully administering the vaccine to over 45 million children across the country. Meanwhile, unknown gunmen opened fire on a polio vaccination team in Sheikho village of Tangir Valley on Sunday. However, they remained safe. Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Firaq said the polio team visited the area "without informing the police", leading to the "unfortunate" incident. He said the team was safely evacuated. Pakistan is the only country, after Afghanistan, where poliovirus is still rampant despite government efforts to eradicate it.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Health
- Hans India
Pakistan confirms 11th polio case of 2025
Islamabad: Pakistan has confirmed its 11th case of wild poliovirus this year after the virus was detected in a child from the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination said in a statement on Monday. According to the ministry, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed the presence of the virus in stool samples collected from a child in Diamer district. The detection came shortly after the conclusion of the third nationwide polio vaccination campaign of the year, which took place from May 26 to June 1. The campaign reached more than 45 million children under the age of five across 159 districts, including high-risk areas, according to health officials. Health officials have urged parents and caregivers to ensure their children receive multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, calling the current campaign a vital opportunity to shield children from the crippling virus, Xinhua news agency reported. Pakistan reported 74 polio cases in 2024, according to official data. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus remains endemic. Polio workers have frequently been targeted in attacks, particularly in the northwest and southwest regions. One of the reasons for the presence of the virus is the refusal of the majority of people to have their children vaccinated. Polio health workers have been victims of targeted killings and attacks by militant groups, who have opposed anti-polio campaigns in the country. According to the World Health Organization, Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. In 1988, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution for the worldwide eradication of polio, marking the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, spearheaded by national governments, WHO, Rotary International, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, and later joined by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Wild poliovirus cases have decreased by over 99 per cent since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries to 6 reported cases in 2021. Of the 3 strains of wild poliovirus (type 1, type 2 and type 3), wild poliovirus type 2 was eradicated in 1999, and wild poliovirus type 3 was eradicated in 2020. As of 2022, endemic wild poliovirus type 1 remains in two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Health
- Business Recorder
Gilgit-Baltistan registers first case of polio this year
Gilgit-Baltistan reported its first case of wild poliovirus in District Diamer, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed on Monday. This is the 11th case in Pakistan this year. The third nationwide polio vaccination campaign began on May 26, and concluded on Sunday. 'The campaign successfully reached over 45 million children under five years of age across 159 districts, including high-risk areas of the country,' the Pakistan's Polio Eradication Programme said in a notification. Earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari urged the citizens, including the media, teachers, religious scholars and the community, to create awareness and extend their support to the polio vaccination drive and dispel the allied misconceptions to achieve a polio-free Pakistan. 'I call on parents to open their doors to vaccinators, ensuring every child receives the life-saving polio drops. I urge teachers, religious leaders, and community elders to champion this noble cause, dispelling myths and building trust. I appeal to the media to amplify the truth: the polio vaccine is safe, effective, and our best weapon,' the president Tuesday said in his message on the occasion of the countrywide polio eradication campaign launched on Monday targeting 45.4 million under-five children.
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Health
- Express Tribune
Pakistan records 11th polio case of 2025, first in Gilgit-Baltistan
A health worker administers polio drops to a child during a door-to-door vaccination campaign amidst heavy snow in the Bakwali-Surgan area of Azad Jammu Kashmir's Neelum Valley, on February 4, 2025. (AFP Listen to article Health authorities in Pakistan have confirmed a new case of wild poliovirus in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, marking the first instance of the virus reported from the region. The case, verified by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), is the eleventh confirmed case of wild poliovirus in the country so far in 2025. Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic. READ MORE: Saudi Arabia commits $500m to end polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan The announcement came shortly after the conclusion of Pakistan's third nationwide polio vaccination campaign of the year, which began on 26 May and ended on Sunday. The campaign reached over 45 million children under the age of five across 159 districts, including many considered high-risk for the virus. Polio is a highly infectious viral disease with no cure. It can cause irreversible paralysis, particularly in young children. Health experts stress that repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine are the only effective way to protect children against the disease. Health officials have renewed calls for parents and caregivers to ensure their children do not miss any immunisation opportunities. Every dose administered, they say, helps build stronger immunity and safeguards children from the lifelong consequences of polio. READ: Abducted polio worker recovered The virus remains a threat in Pakistan, which registered 74 cases in 2024 alone. 'This case is a stark reminder that polio remains a threat,' said an official from Pakistan's polio eradication programme. 'No child should be left behind.' Authorities continue to rely on community engagement to ensure full coverage and prevent any resurgence of the virus. Last week, a police constable was martyred and another officer injured when unidentified assailants opened fire on a polio vaccination team in Nushki, Balochistan, on Tuesday. The team was conducting routine immunisation work when the attack occurred. Polio teams in Pakistan have frequently been targeted in deadly attacks, particularly in remote or conflict-affected areas. Read: Two polio workers kidnapped in K-P's Tank district President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident, reaffirming the government's commitment to protecting health workers and continuing the fight against polio.
