Pakistan registers one more polio case taking tally to 68

Pakistan's poliovirus tally for the current year rose to 68 on Monday after another case reported at the end of the year. 

DI Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported the latest case of the paralysing disease, taking the total number of cases from the district in 2024 to 10, according to the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) in a statement.

Of the 68 reported polio cases, 27 are from the worst-hit Balochistan, 20 KP and 19 from the province of Sindh. 

Punjab and Islamabad have reported one case each of the disease in 2024.

Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme explained that polio is a "paralysing" disease with "no cure" and "the completion of the routine vaccination for all children under the age of five" just provides them "high immunity against this terrible disease".

The rise in tally comes after a seven-day anti-polio vaccination drive commenced on Monday in Balochistan, the worst-hit province by the crippling disease.

As many as 11,600 teams will participate in the inoculation drive, as per the Emergency Operation Centre inoculation drive with officials saying that more than 2.6 million children up to five years of age would be administered anti-polio drops.

Furthermore, security arrangements have also been made along with the polio teams, noted EOC officials.

Balochistan EOC Coordinator Inamul-Haq has urged parents, media and citizens to play their role in making the anti-polio campaign successful.

Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, and the number of cases on a yearly basis had significantly dropped in the country, until the recent spike in cases.