• Experts call for aggressive, holistic approach to free country from polio
• Ask health dept to review Karachi’s polio case

KARACHI: As World Polio Day is being celebrated across the globe on Tuesday (today), Pakistan’s fight against the life-threatening and disabling disease is far from over as experts indicate the need for a more aggressive and holistic approach towards the pressing challenge.

According to the available data, the country has seen four cases this year with 11 new positive environmental samples detected in seven cities, including Karachi, this month, raising this year’s tally to 54.

The recent case of a 24-month-old baby is detected in the union council of Gujro of Karachi-East. This is the first case detected in the city since June, 2020.

Karachi’s last polio case was reported in the union council of Muzaffarabad, Landhi.

Commenting on Karachi’s case and the challenges posed by polio, Dr Khalid Shafi of the Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) shared that the association held a detailed discussion on that case on Monday with the concerned provincial authorities and suggested a review as the baby’s stool sample was negative.

“The government has declared the case on the basis of some epidemiological formula and limited evidence that included the baby’s paralysis and the fact that the stool sample of one of his siblings was positive. However, we believe that the case should be reviewed as the baby’s stool sample was negative,” he said.

Dr Shafi was of the opinion that the acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) the child suffered could be due to some other illness (than polio).

“Pakistan yearly reports some 13,000 to 14,000 cases of this paralysis, which occur on account of multiple reasons, including viral infections.”

The baby in question, he pointed out, had received all the immunisation doses that made it hard to believe that he got infected with polio.

“Though efficacy of the vaccine and child’s health status has a strong connection, this baby wasn’t malnourished. Hence, we have recommended some more laboratory tests to confirm the diagnosis.”

Explaining why the child’s sibling with a positive stool sample didn’t develop polio, Dr Shafi said that only one out of 200 infections turned serious and led to irreversible paralysis while the rest of patients with the infection either won’t have any visible symptoms or get recovered after experiencing flu-like illness.

“This explains why we get worried when a single case surfaces. It means there would be 200 cases of infection, posing threat to the whole community,” he said, adding that among those children who get paralysed, five to 10 die when their breathing muscles become immobilised.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has expressed concern over the increasing number of positive environmental samples for polio and detection of new cases.

“This shows the poor performance of our polio programme. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries left in the world where polio continues to threaten the health and well-being of children. Pakistan remains under a polio-linked travel restriction imposed by the WHO,” Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro of the PMA stated.

He called upon the government to chalk out a fool-proof strategy to curb polio virus on an emergent basis.

“To control this virus, sewage system will have to be made safe and on priority basis. The government should run an effective awareness campaign, remove misconceptions about the vaccine and convince the masses to vaccinate their children positively instead of under threat. Nobody can force parents for polio drops to their children through any law or FIR,” he said.

The day also saw an advocacy walk organised by the Emergency Operation Centre for Polio, Sindh, at Seaview. Individuals from diverse backgrounds joined the event and demonstrated their commitment for the global mission.

Speaking at the event, Irshad Ali Sodhar, provincial coordinator of the EOC, encouraged all participants to share pictures of their vaccinated children on social media, emphasising the power of collective action and community engagement in reaching the goal of a polio-free Pakistan.

“We have made significant progress in the battle against polio. But our work is not done. On this World Polio Day, we call upon every citizen to join hands and share the message about the importance of polio vaccination. Let the world see that we are committed to securing a polio-free future for our children,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2023