Toddler becomes year’s second polio victim in city

Karachi
Just when the authorities were finally hoping to get a step ahead of the crippling disease in Karachi, the second polio case of the year emerged on Thursday as blood samples of a toddler from Keamari Town tested positive for the virus despite him being vaccinated “two-plus-seven” times during recent immunisation drives.
The health officials identified the second polio victim this year in Karachi to be 34-month-old Shahab Khan, son of Arsalan Khan. The toddler belongs to a Pashtun family residing in UC-2 of Sikandarabad in Keamari town.
Officials said Shahab had been vaccinated twice in routine immunisation campaigns besides receiving seven additional doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine during special drives.
Earlier this month, 18-month-old Maryam from Gulberg town tested positive for polio after verification at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad.
With the emergence of another polio victim in Keamari, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan now stands at 41.
The town health officer (THO) Keamari, Shafi Rahu, while quoting the mother of 34-month-old Shahab, who also has a twin brother, said the child received a dose of Oral Polio Vaccine several times during the vaccination drives held in the area.
“Shahab's mother claims he received polio drops every time vaccinators arrived at their door, except for the time he had fever,” he said. “The child has weak immunity due to his frequent and prolonged illness.”
As officials engaged in polio eradication fight the last leg of the battle with the crippling virus, a report by the Independent Monitory Board (IMB) for Global Polio Eradication Initiative released last week described this winter to be critical for the eradication of polio virus from Pakistan. The report warned that polio was not eradicated within the next three months, Pakistan could face a devastating backlash during the upcoming summer, a high-transmission season for the virus.
The IMB report terms Peshawar to be the hub and a “conveyer belt” for the spread of polio in Pakistan, stating that the wild polio virus was being transmitted to other parts of the country from the Peshawar. The report also pointed out that the polio virus was circulating in the environment in Karachi, especially in areas with poor sanitation, despite extensive vaccination drives.
On the other hand, an independent experts’ committee constituted by the World Health Organization (WHO) has also extended temporary travel recommendations for Pakistan for another three months.
The committee of experts met on November 10, 2015, and had a teleconference with Pakistani officials, termed the country to be endemic for polio and recommended for continuing the travel recommendations for Pakistan.
Every Pakistani citizens travelling abroad has to gulp down two drops of the Oral Polio Vaccine and acquire a vaccination certification.
This year, a total of 41 polio cases emerged from Pakistan, with six cases from Sindh. Two cases have been reported from Karachi, two from Dadu district and one each from Kambar-Shahdadkot and Sukkur districts.
Last year, Pakistan broke its own record of the most number of polio cases reported in a year when 306 cases emerged in 2014, and the country also came under the limelight for exporting the virus to Middle Eastern countries, compelling the WHO to slap travel restrictions on Pakistani travellers.
Dr Usman Chachar, the coordinator in Sindh for the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for Polio confirmed that another child in Karachi had tested positive for the crippling disease and termed it a “sad development”. He said the EOC teams were investigating the incident.
He stressed every possible measure was being taken to eradicate polio from Sindh with vaccination in almost all the areas of the province, especially Karachi. He said the emergence of such cases, instead of demoralising the polio teams, further strengthened their resolve to eliminate their menace from the country.