Polio paralyses a child, kills other in N Waziristan

ISLAMABAD: Two children in North Waziristan have been diagnosed with wild poliomyelitis, the Pakistan National Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health confirmed late Tuesday. One of the victims, an 11-month-old boy from Mir Ali, has died.

The other child, who has been attacked by the wild poliomyelitis, is a one-year-old boy hailing from Dosali. He had onset of paralysis on May 8. The child, who had passed away, experienced onset of paralysis on May 27 and was paralysed in all four limbs and the neck muscle. All cases so far in 2022 have been reported from North Waziristan, where more cases are expected due to continued wild poliovirus transmission caused by high vaccine resistance and poor health standards.

“An anti-polio campaign is going on in southern parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which is the third vaccination activity by the polio programme since the outbreak in North Waziristan,” said Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel. “We are doing our utmost to reach all children and will not rest until we end polio in this country,” he added.

Health Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam said it was crucial for parents and caregivers to ensure all children must receive polio vaccine, particularly during the ongoing vaccination activities in the district.

The southern districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, North and South Waziristan, DI Khan, Bannu, Tank and Lakki Marwat, are at the highest risk of wild poliovirus transmission. The children up to the age of 10 are being vaccinated at all entry and exit points of southern KP, while the programme is hunting down the virus with contact tracing and heightened surveillance activities.