ISLAMABAD: A second case of poliovirus in as many days took this year’s tally to 24 on Saturday, four times more as compared to 2023.

The latest child to be affected by the paralytic disease is a 29-month-old boy in Hyderabad district of Sindh, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradica­tion at the National Institute of Health confirmed.

The child, a resident of Chishtian colony, was vaccinated on Sept 11 during the recent nationwide vaccination drive, and again on Sept 19, according to Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Zainul Abiden Memon.

The vaccination “did weaken the virus” but couldn’t eradicate it completely, as per the official.

After visiting the child and his family at their residence on Saturday, the DC said the child’s stool sample had been collected on Sept 14 following the family’s complaint of paralysis in the child’s body.

Seven cases reported in two weeks; govt plans to expand vaccination campaign

After ten days, the sample confirmed the presence of wild poliovirus (WPV1), the official added.

This is the second case from Hyderabad this year after one was reported in Aug­ust. Of the 24 polio cases, 15 were from Balochistan, five from Sindh, two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad, a lab official confirmed.

Of the two dozen cases, seven have been reported since the vaccination campaign concluded on Sept 14. According to the polio programme, the nationwide polio vaccination campaign covered 33 million children under the age of five in 115 districts.

Despite the challenges, the polio programme hopes to curb the virus transmission by mid-2025 through a “comprehensive roadmap”.

The roadmap, made in consultation with the provinces, was focused on ensuring the vaccination of every child in polio high-risk areas, plugging operational gaps, building community trust through open communication, mapping and vaccinating all migrants and strengthening management and oversight to achieve the objective of polio eradication.

The polio programme has planned two more vaccination campaigns before the end of the year to boost immunity among the children.

Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq has called on parents and communities to fulfil their duty and ensure polio vaccination for children.

“Polio has no cure, yet it is entirely preventable with the help of an easily accessible vaccine that the government provides to families at their doorsteps.”

Meanwhile, experts have raised concern over the virus situation in the country.

A polio expert, wishing not to be quoted, told Dawn that it was a testing time for the new leadership as the widespread immunity gap would lead to more cases in the next couple of months despite a lot of hard work on the ground.

Mohammad Hussain Khan in Hyderabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2024