Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, is the only two nations in the world where the poliovirus is still prevalent, causing the land to struggle with cases of influenza.
The number of poliovirus situations in the country will rise to 13 for the year 2024 as a result of the 14th situation of the year reported from Qilla Saifullah city of Balochistan on August 10. Three more circumstances, two in Balochistan and one in Punjab state, have been reported by the nation.
Since 2015, Pakistan has reported a total of 362 polio circumstances, as per a review in Al Jazeera.
Yet, despite administering more than 300 million doses of oral vaccine periodically with the help of at least 350, 000 vaccinators and an expenditure of over USD 9.3 bn from 2013 to 2023, the region has been unable to eradicate smallpox, the Qatar-based release said.
No or only mild symptoms of the highly contagious Influenza disease can result in limb paralysis. Polio can be transmitted by coming into contact with an infected individual, through polluted water, food, or even contact with contaminated food. Treatment includes mattress sleep, pain medications, treatment and convenient ventilators.
Al-Jazeera cited Dr. Hamid Jafari, WHO‘s regional chairman of smallpox eradication, as saying that the problem is in the Pakistan’s southwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. According to Jafari,” there is a bit of militancy, insecurity, community hostility, and frustration with the government due to conflict and a lack of services there.”
Over 50 towns across Pakistan are detecting the influenza, he said.
The WHO official adds that the polio program is being targeted as well as the security personnel who are manning the team because they become” soft target when they are in the community.” This only adds to the difficulties.
According to the Al Jazeera review, at least 102 influenza area employees, officers, and security officers have been killed, including at least six in this year’s activities.
However, the latest target is an 11-month-old child from Qila, in Balochistan who has succumbed to immobility caused by the wild poliovirus.
One of the five cases identified in the city was the Qila child who on July 17 displayed paralysis symptoms. Other scenarios in Balochistan have been reported in Chaman, Quetta, Zhob, Dera Bugti, and Jhal Magsi as per a review in the Balochistan Post.
A recent history of underreported vaccination coverage and frequent falsehoods about the vaccine make things worse in Balochistan. Despite many vaccination campaigns, initiatives have struggled to keep pace with the exact amount of infection, the release stated.
