Parental refusals adding to national polio count

Islamabad : At a point in time when cases should have declined to single digit, three new polio cases were confirmed Thursday by the Polio Virology Laboratory, taking Pakistan’s national polio county to an unpardonable 27.

According to laboratory confirmation, a 21 month-old girl child from UC Takhtikhel, a 49 month-old girl child from Sarae Naurang, and a 10 month-old male child from UC Hernai are the latest victims of the crippling poliovirus. The cases are from districts Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Torghar.

“There is no other solution but to administer two drops of polio vaccine to very eligible child,” the Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Babar Bin Atta said, adding, “it is high time that a massive perception change be implemented on how people view vaccination.”

The Polio Eradication Initiative has appealed to parents, religious leaders and other stakeholders to convince people to vaccinate their children and take up the issue as a national cause.

Polio is a highly infectious disease that invades the nervous system, and can cause paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Each time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased. Repeated immunisations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world—barring Pakistan—to become polio-free.