Polio cases reach 49 with new infection in Jaffarabad

• Pakistan’s polio cases reach 49.
• Jaffarabad records its first polio case. 
• Linked to a strain from Pishin, from April.
  

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported another polio case, bringing the total to 49 confirmed cases this year, The News reported.

The latest case, detected in Jaffarabad, Balochistan, marks the district’s first confirmed polio infection, underscoring the virus’s ongoing spread across the country, health authorities announced on Thursday.

Genetic sequencing of the virus sample, conducted by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, has traced the virus to a WPV1 strain previously identified in Pishin, Balochistan, in April.

This connection highlights active transmission within the province, which remains the hardest-hit area, with 24 cases reported to date.

Just last week, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Dera Ismail Khan district also reported an infection, Sindh’s Ghotki district recorded its first case of the year.

So far, Balochistan has reported the highest number of cases at 24, followed by Sindh with 13, KP with 10, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

Pakistan remains one of only two countries where wild poliovirus transmission has not yet been eradicated.

The ongoing spread is attributed to challenges such as insecurity, misinformation, and community resistance, which complicate vaccination campaigns.

With Pakistan being one of two polio endemic countries, health officials urge parents to actively participate in polio vaccination campaigns frequently conducted by the government.

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus mainly affecting children under the age of five years, who are malnourished or have weak immunity due to being under-vaccinated or not vaccinated for polio and other childhood diseases.

The illness invades the nervous system and causes paralysis or even death.

While there is no cure for polio, officials stress that immunisation is the most effective defence against this virus.