7th polio case for Dera Ismail Khan takes Pakistan’s 2024 tally to 56

Another polio case was confirmed to be detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday, taking the country’s tally for the current year to 56.

Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Islamabad’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirmed the detection of the case in a boy, according to a press release issued by the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC).

It added that it was the seventh polio case of the year from DI Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern KP.

According to the NEOC, the country was responding to an “intense resurgence” of wild poliovirus this year with 56 cases reported so far.

It said Balochistan and KP reported the highest number of cases with 26 and 15, respectively, while 13 were reported from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

“There is no cure for polio, only prevention,” the press release said. It advised administering multiple doses of polio drops and completing a routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five to ensure high immunity against the disease.

It added that the Pakistan Polio Programme conducted multiple mass vaccination drives every year, administering vaccines to children at their doorsteps. “The Expanded Programme on Immunisation provides vaccinations against 12 childhood diseases free of charge at health facilities,” it added.

“It is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all their children under the age of five to keep them protected and help make Pakistan polio-free,” the press release said.

On Sunday, three cases were reported in Balochistan and KP. The reference laboratory confirmed the three cases, with a lab official telling Dawn that new cases were reported from DI Khan, Zhob and Jaffarabad.

The victims were girls aged 8 and 20 months and a five-month-old boy.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the government hosted a high-level delegation from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) for a second time this year, reiterating the highest political commitment to eradicating the disease and protecting all children from paralytic polio.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked the GPEI partners and donors for supporting Pakistan through the years and reiterated that polio eradication was the government’s top priority.

“A strategic National Emergency Action Plan is being implemented to reverse the virus surge and all chief ministers and secretaries are providing direct oversight and working in coordination to fight the current polio outbreak,” he said.