ISLAMABAD: Two more children have been paralysed by poliovirus in Balochistan, taking the tally for the current year up to 11.

Officials of the Polio Programme have blamed protests and insecurity in Balochistan for the rising number of polio cases as these matters have disrupted polio campaigns in several districts of the province, exposing children to crippling disease.

In another development, the wild poliovirus (WPV1) has been found in environmental samples of Khuzdar and seven previously positive districts taking the total number of districts hit by the virus to 57.

According to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio at the National Institute of Health (NIH), new polio cases have been found in Patri union council of Jhal Magsi, where a three-year-old child was found infected by the virus and a 1.5-year-old child Maizai union council of Killa Abdullah was also found infected by the virus.

Protests and insecurity blamed for the rising number of cases in the province

“The affected child of Jhal Magsi virus is linked to a virus detected in Usta Muhammad in July, while the genetic sequencing of the virus infecting the Killa Abdullah child, is under way,” an official of the Polio Programme told Dawn.

He said that last year six polio cases were found, but this year the number has gone up to almost double despite the fact that five months are still left in completion of the current year.

“The situation was ideal in 2021 when only one case of polio was reported and the virus was limited to only a few tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but because of some unwise decisions, polio has again started spreading and now the virus has spread across the country,” he said.

Coordinator to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath said that the crippling disease has ruined the future of two more Pakistani children, leaving them paralysed for life.

Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq says that while the virus has been found in over 50 districts this year, Balochistan, in particular, is facing an outbreak of the disease with nine cases reported in six districts of the province.

Retired Captain Anwarul Haq, Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, has said the Polio Programme has been facing disruptions in polio campaigns in recent months in Balochistan.

“Localised protests and insecurity have disrupted polio campaigns in several districts of Balochistan, leaving children vulnerable to the disease,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2024