ISLAMABAD: Refusal to administer polio vaccine drops has led to another tragedy in Pakistan, where an 11-month-old infant from Killa Abdullah has been paralysed by the wild poliovirus, raising the total number of polio cases in Pakistan to 13 this year.
“Parents of the ill-fated child refused to get their child vaccinated, resulting in his permanent paralysis. This incident underscores the persistent threat of polio and the critical need for communities to ensure that all children under the age of five receive the polio vaccine to prevent further cases of this debilitating disease,” an official in the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) said on Wednesday.
Thousands of children are prevented from receiving the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) drops by their parents during vaccination drives in Pakistan. Often polio vaccinators do not report these refusals to their superiors, preventing efforts to convince parents to vaccinate their children.
Officials said the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed polio in the child, who developed symptoms of paralysis on July 17. This brings the total number of polio cases reported this year in Balochistan alone to 10. Officials revealed that preliminary investigations showed the child’s parents, belonging to a high-risk population (Afghan refugees), had refused vaccination.
“It is a case of unrecorded refusal, meaning the parents refused to vaccinate their child, but the polio team did not report it. Consequently, not a single drop of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) was administered to the unfortunate child,” the PEI official added.
Expressing concern over the increasing polio detections in Balochistan, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Dr. Malik Mukhtar Bharath, emphasised that protecting children from this devastating disease is the paramount priority of the government. “We are working with the provincial government to strengthen immunisation in the province and build children’s immunity against polio,” he said.
Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, said that Balochistan is facing a severe poliovirus outbreak, particularly in historic strongholds like Quetta, Chaman, and Killa Abdullah. She added that the provincial government is handling the situation on an emergency footing and strategising to curb the virus spread.
The Polio Programme’s National Polio Management Team is meeting this week as preparations escalate for the next polio campaign in September. “Poliovirus exposes our gaps, where we have missed children through campaigns and routine immunisation,” she said. “We are re-grouping efforts with our provincial colleagues to urgently plug these gaps to curb further virus spread.”
Over the past few weeks, the Polio Programme has conducted an extensive self-critical assessment in consultation with all provinces and is implementing a comprehensive roadmap to interrupt virus transmission, particularly in high-risk districts.
Reiterating the importance of vaccination, the PM’s focal person emphasised that while the Polio Programme brings the protective polio vaccine to children’s doorsteps multiple times a year, the continued support of parents and communities remains critical to ensure that no child is missed.
National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Coordinator Anwarul Haq stated that the persistent detection of cases from Killa Abdullah highlights the need for relentless vigilance and urgent action. “The Balochistan EOC and health department, with the full support of federal teams, are on the frontlines against this outbreak,” he said, adding that the programme is committed to making Pakistan polio free.
This is the 13th polio case from Pakistan this year, the 10th from Balochistan, and the fifth from Killa Abdullah. Two cases have been reported from Sindh and one from Punjab.
