In a worrying development for the ongoing efforts to eradicate polio from Pakistan, two new cases of the crippling disease have surfaced in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. This takes the total number of polio cases reported in Pakistan this year alone to 45.
The new cases have been confirmed in Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Tests conducted at the National Institute of Health revealed the infections to be caused by the type 1 wild poliovirus (WPV1). Detection of the virus in environmental samples from these districts underscores the persistent threat of transmission in the region.
Pakistan has continued to report cases of polio even as India and other nations have succeeded in stopping the disease’s spread. Data shows WPV1 presence in 76 districts spread across all four of Pakistan’s provinces, painting a worrying picture of its widespread circulation nationally.
Despite ongoing vaccination drives that aim to protect over 45 million children, outbreaks keep emerging. This year’s tally so far includes 22 cases from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, and nine and one case each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab/Islamabad respectively.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are now the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic. With cross-border transmission a threat, it is imperative that eradication efforts intensify across high-risk regions. The detection of new infections is a reminder that Pakistan’s battle against this preventable disease is far from over.
