Polio reaches Charsadda as eight districts test positive for virus

ISLAMABAD (DAWN): The presence of poliovirus has been detected in eight districts, a day after four more cases of the crippling diseases were confirmed.

According to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in environmental samples collected from one uninfected and seven already-infected districts.

The virus reached Charsadda, a previously uninfected district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The tally for the infected districts has reached 83 this year.

Other than that, the country has reported 63 cases of poliovirus. The reported cases and presence of the virus in environmental samples are indicators of the virus’ prevalence.

According to a lab official, sewage samples collected from Charsadda, D.I. Khan, Rawalpindi, Qambar, Jamshoro, Qilla Saifullah, Barkhan and Mastung have tested positive for WPV1.

“This is the first positive sewage sample detection this year from Charsadda,” the official said, adding the district borders Peshawar, where the virus has been prevalent for several months, indicating continued transmission of WPV1.

“This year, 63 polio cases have been reported in the country. The resurgence of poliovirus has put children nationwide at serious risk from a disease that can leave them paralysed for life,” the official said.

The four latest victims are a 33-month-old girl from Darazinda tehsil of D.I. Khan, a 48-month-old girl from Tank, a 36-month-old girl from Thull tehsil of Jacobabad and an 11-year-old boy from Sukkur.

The infection of an 11-year-old child was a particular cause of concern as usually under-five children are infected with the disease.

However, an official told Dawn that the victim’s mother reported frequent episodes of diarrhoea.

“Children suffering with some chronic disease or comorbidity remain vulnerable to the crippling disease,” he said.

Of the 63 cases reported so far this year, 26 were from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

In the face of a resurging virus, officials have planned expansive inoculation campaigns to boost children’s immunity against the crippling disease.

The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme will launch a mass vaccination campaign from December 16 to 22 to vaccinate more than 44 million children under five in 143 districts.