ISLAMABAD: With 21 polio cases already confirmed in the country during the current year, the National Institute of Health (NIH) is analysing 20 suspected cases.

In the year 2014, as many as 306 polio cases were reported from different parts of the country. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif formed a cabinet committee to take steps to eradicate the crippling disease.

Moreover, on May 5, 2014, the World Health Organisation made it mandatory for all Pakistanis travelling abroad to have at least one dose of the anti-polio vaccine. The government was also suggested to issue vaccination certificates to the travelers. The decision was made to avoid the risk of transfer of the poliovirus to other countries.

Ten of the suspected cases were received from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

According to documents available with Dawn, 20 suspected polio cases had been received at the NIH by April 13 for an analysis.

The documents showed that 10 of the suspected cases were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: three from Karak, two from Nowshera and one case reported from Mardan, Peshawar, Swabi, Dir Lower and D. I. Khan.

Three suspected cases were also received from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) while two came from South Waziristan and one from Bajaur.

Four of the suspected cases were from Punjab and the children who were suspected of being paralysed belonged to Faisalabad, Layyah, Nankana Sahib and Muzaffargarh.

Two samples have been received from Jacobabad and Qilla Abdullah, Balochistan. One of the suspected cases was also from Matiari, Sindh.

An official of the NIH requesting not to be identified said whenever a child was paralysed and medical experts felt that it can be a case of polio they sent their samples to the NIH lab.

“It takes one to four weeks to confirm if the child is paralysed because of the poliovirus. Two cases which have been reported from Faisalabad and Dir Lower are highly suspected,” he said.

“Currently, we are in a low transmission season due to which the number of the suspected cases is very low. With the increase in the mercury the arrival of suspected cases will also go up because poliovirus becomes more active in high temperatures,” he said.

When contacted, Dr Rana Safdar, the head of the emergency operation centre for polio, said all the cases sent to the lab were yet to be confirmed for poliovirus.

“We are worried over the suspected case from Faisalabad because it was a polio-free area. However, on Friday it was confirmed that the child from Faisalabad was not affected by the poliovirus,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2015

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