Latest news with #polioEradication
Arab News
20-06-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Pakistan reports new polio case in northwest, raising 2025 tally to 12
KARACHI: Pakistan's polio eradication program on Friday said a new wild poliovirus case had been detected in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bringing the total tally of 2025 cases to 12. Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure, making prevention through vaccination critical. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine immunization schedule for all children, are essential to build strong immunity against the virus. The country conducted three nationwide vaccination campaigns in February, April and May, aiming to immunize around 45 million children across Pakistan with the support of over 400,000 frontline workers including 225,000 women vaccinators. 'The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, has confirmed a new case of wild poliovirus in District Bannu, South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,' the body said in a statement. 'The 33-month-old male child from Union Council Shamsikhel, District Bannu is the sixth case of polio reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year.' Pakistan has reported 12 polio cases so far this year, including six from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from the southern Sindh province and one each from the populous Punjab province and the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Pakistan, one of the last two countries where polio remains endemic along with Afghanistan, has made significant progress in curbing the virus, with annual cases dropping from around 20,000 in the early 1990s to just eight in 2018. However, the country reported an alarmingly high number of 74 cases in 2024, after six in 2023 and only one in 2021. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Thursday claimed that Pakistan has recorded a 99 percent decline in polio cases, as he urged global vaccine organization Gavi to invest more in efforts to 'train and retain' vaccinators. Pakistan launched its polio eradication program in 1994, but its efforts have repeatedly been hindered by widespread vaccine misinformation and resistance from hard-line religious groups who claim immunization campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize Muslim children or a front for espionage. Militant groups have also targeted polio workers and police officials providing them security, often with deadly attacks that have hampered vaccination drives, particularly in the country's remote and conflict-prone regions.
The Independent
02-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Pakistan's latest polio case deals blow to eradication campaign
Northern Pakistan has reported its first Polio case in almost seven years, dealing a blow to the South Asian nation's campaign to eradicate the infectious disease. The virus was detected in a 23-month-old child from Diamer district in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, according to the country's polio eradication programme. This is Pakistan 's 11th case since January this year, despite the launch of several immunisation drives. The case was reported after a polio eradication team came under fire on Sunday, police said. According to local police, unknown armed men opened fire on the polio team in Sheikho village of the Tangir Valley, accusing them of 'ruining the environment' through the health campaign. The vehicle of the team was stopped at the RCC bridge. 'You all are ruining the environment here by bringing [unveiled] women from Gilgit in the name of the polio campaign. If you do this again, you won't be able to escape,' the armed gunmen said, according to Dawn. The shots fired by them punctured the tyres of the polio team's vehicle, the police said. Regional officials said they were aware of the incident and had ordered strict action. Faizullah Faraq, spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan administration, said the chief minister had taken note of the firing. He added that the polio monitoring team was moved to a safe location immediately after the incident. He said the incident occurred because the polio team had gone to the area 'without informing the police'. Authorities were still trying to determine how the poliovirus, initially found in the southern port city of Karachi, had infected the child in Diamer, Mohammad Iqbal, a director at the polio programme in the northwest, said. Thousands of tourists from Karachi and elsewhere visit resorts in Gilgit-Baltistan during the summer season. The latest case emerged after Pakistan wrapped up its third nationwide polio vaccination drive of the year on Sunday, aiming to immunize 45 million children. Pakistan and its neighbour Afghanistan are the only two countries where the spread of the wild polio virus has not been stopped, according to the World Health Organization. There are ongoing outbreaks of polio linked to the oral vaccine in 10 other countries, mostly in Africa. Pakistan has faced vaccine hesitancy and misinformation campaigns which have slowed progress in eradicating the disease. Healthcare workers and police assigned to protect them are sometimes targeted by gunmen who falsely claim the polio vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilise children. Since the 1990s, attacks on polio vaccination teams in the country have killed over 200 workers and security personnel.
