Tally for polio cases in 2024 rises to 21

Amidst the ongoing anti-polio drive across the country, three more children have been diagnosed with the disease, according to the health department.

Following the new cases, the total tally of poliovirus-affected children reached 21 in the country.

In the latest update, three cases were reported in Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of the country.

A ninth-month-old baby girl in KP’s Mohmand was vaccinated two times but was detected with poliovirus.

The case has prompted the KP’s authority to investigate the quality of the drops and hold a probe against the responsible.

Following the development, Chief Minister KP Ali Amin Gandapur suspended the Health Officer and Polio Coordinator and ordered the authorities to ensure the highly standard quality of anti-polio drops.

According to officials, 18,000 parents in KP refused to vaccinate their children. However, an estimated 5.6 million children in the province are expected to be vaccinated during the anti-poliovirus drive.

On the other hand, a fifteen-month-old and a three-year-old boy from Karachi and Qila Abdullah of Balochistan were detected with the highly infectious disease.

Poliovirus was spreading in Pakistan rapidly, with 21 cases so far, which is over four times higher than the previous year when five cases were reported.

Previously, a focal person of the anti-polio campaign, Ayesha Farooque, had expressed deep concerns about the eradication of the polio virus in Balochistan and stressed the importance of vaccination of all children.

She said that the higher number of cases on both sides of the border puts children at risk across the country, emphasising the importance of vaccines in dealing with the polio virus.