Two more children crippled by poliovirus in Sindh

KARACHI: The Polio Eradication Initiative officials in Pakistan have confirmed two more polio cases in Sindh, saying two more boys, from the Jaccobabad and Mirpurkhas districts were crippled by the Wild Polio Virus 1 (WPV1) mounting the countrywide total of children crippled by the feared life-crippling disease to 144 across the country and 30 in cases of Sindh.

“Two more children, one each from districts Jaccobabad and Mirpurkhas have been crippled by Wild Polio Virus 1 (WPV1). These are the cases of 2019 as their date of onset was in December last year. This takes the total tally of Sindh to 30 and Pakistan to 144 for the year 2019, an official of the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Sindh for Polio said on Saturday. The official said in Jaccobabad, a 4-year-old male child was affected by polio and showed weakness in the right lower limb. The date of onset was 19-12-2019. According to parents the child had received 7 doses of OPV and an investigation is ongoing. Similarly in Mirpurkhas, a 4-year-old male child was affected by the poliovirus and reported weakness in the right upper and lower limb and the neck muscles. His parents also claimed that he had received OPV on multiple occasions and the investigations are underway.

The National EOC and Sindh EOC have restarted their campaign against polio eradication which would hopefully reverse the scary trend. The first vaccination was successfully completed in Dec NID followed by a case response in January and another campaign will be conducted from February. The vaccinations during Dec - April are likely to decrease the intensity of virus transmission in the second half of 2020. The National and Sindh EOCs have asked the parents to ensure the immunization of their children both during the routine and special campaigns during the next few months.