Poliovirus reappears in Karachi, WHO says Pakistan's eradication program is no longer on track | Pakistan

KARACHI: The presence of wild poliovirus has been detected in samples taken in all major areas of Karachi, official data revealed on Saturday, while the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed that the program was unheard of. eradication in Pakistan was no longer on track.

The latest environmental survey conducted by the emergency operation cell team revealed the presence of wild poliovirus (WPV1) in 11 different regions of Karachi. The most affected areas are Gadap, Gulishan-e-Iqbal, Landhi, Saddar, Korangi, Orangi City, SITE and Liaqatabad.

According to the survey, samples were collected between April and May this year in six localities of Gadap, four of Gulishan-e-Iqbal and two localities of Saddar, Landhi and Orangi, areas known to be the the WPV1 .

It was the first time that the presence of wild poliovirus was detected in samples on such a large scale in the most populous city in the country.

According to a spokesman for the EOC team, two cases of poliomyelitis have been confirmed in Karachi. The total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2019 is 21.

Babar Bin Ata, head of the Prime Minister's polio eradication program, announced that a large campaign would be launched after Eid and that she would be careful not to let any children through. of the vaccination campaign. He urged parents to vaccinate their children during each polio campaign so that polio can be eradicated from Pakistan in order to preserve the future of their children.

WHO "gravely concerned" by the increase in polio in Pakistan

Earlier this week, the WHO Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (IHR) said "deeply concerned by the further significant increase in the number of cases of WPV1 in 2019, especially in Pakistan ".

"In Pakistan, transmission remains widespread, as indicated by the number of positive environmental isolates in many parts of the country and the proportion of samples detecting PPV1 in increasing", noted the WHO committee, adding that it was essential for the government to redouble efforts because "the eradication program in the country is no longer on the right track. "

According to data from the government 's National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), the total number of wild polio cases nationwide in April of last year was two. According to NEOC, this number rose to 17 in April this year – 11 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and three from each of Sindh and Punjab provinces.

The polio virus, which invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours, spreads rapidly among children, particularly in unsanitary conditions and in areas with limited health care.

The disease can be prevented by vaccination, but efforts to eradicate it in Pakistan have been undermined by the opposition of some conservatives and extremists, who claim that vaccination is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children. or a blanket for western spies.