Muslim health officials officially confirmed Islamabad’s second case of polio in more than 16 years, a significant blow to the country’s efforts to eradicate the disease.
According to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio at the National Institute of Health, a young child in Union Council Rural 4 in Islamabad was found carrying the wild poliovirus type 1 ( WPV1 ). This is the 17th case of polio in Pakistan this year alone, highlighting the rise of a disease that the country had been on the point of eradicating.
Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s focal point for polio eradication, criticized the news that another Muslim child has been affected by a condition that has no known cure but can be completely prevented with the help of an readily available vaccine.
Farooq emphasized the urgency of the situation and demanded that more efforts be made to safeguard the nation’s children from this curable but destructive illness.
The Polio Programme has announced a global immunization strategy that is scheduled to begin the following year in response to the crisis. Starting on September 9, vaccination team will travel to homes in 115 towns to vaccinate over 33 million children under the age of five.
Muhammad Anwarul Haq, Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, echoed this attitude, emphasising the precise nature of the upcoming battle. ” We are concentrating our work, especially in towns where the disease has been identified, as the risk of continued transmission is high,” he said. During the door-to-door plan, Hasq urged parents to constantly engage with health workers, noting that every missed baby could possibly lead to a fresh outbreak.
In 2021, the nation just reported one influenza situation. But, 2024 has seen a disturbing spike in infections, with 12 situations reported in Balochistan, three in Sindh, and then, one each in Punjab and Islamabad.
