Poliovirus circulation continues in 8 major cities

Islamabad : Poliovirus was detected from sewage samples of eight populous cities of Pakistan last month—a critical time when the World Health Organization is expecting “zero polio transmission” and has given out a clear warning to the effect that failure to eradicate polio from Pakistan and Afghanistan could result in a resurgence of the disease, with 200,000 new cases predicted worldwide every year within 10 years.

According to results shared by the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), Karachi, Peshawar, Bannu, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Killa Abdullah, Pishin, and Quetta are the cities where the presence of poliovirus was confirmed during December 2018. Considering the associated risks, the country programme has urged parents to ensure immunization of all children under the age of five years during the upcoming polio campaign scheduled to start from January 21.

Sewage water samples are collected on a monthly basis from 58 sampling sites across the country under the supervision of relevant provincial health departments and tested by the state-of-the-art Regional Polio Reference Laboratory housed at the National Institute of Health. The genetic sequencing further guides the programme in undertaking requisite response activities.

“Our case counts are declining but as long as the virus is present anywhere in the country, the threat of polio looms large over vulnerable children. Continuous population movements to and from these infected cities, therefore, pose a risk to children elsewhere as well,” remarked Dr. Rana Safdar, National Emergency Operations Coordinator for Polio Eradication.

The Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Babar Bin Atta emphasized the significance of protecting children from lifelong paralysis. “I can’t emphasize enough how critically important it is to ensure that each and every child is vaccinated during the upcoming campaign. Every Pakistani must now assume the role of a Polio Worker to ensure vaccination of all children during every campaign,” urged Babar.

Polio eradication requires high immunization coverage everywhere, worldwide, to block transmission of this extremely contagious virus. Unfortunately, children are still missing out on vaccination for various reasons including lack of infrastructure, remote locations, population movement, conflict and insecurity, and resistance to vaccination.