Four new polio cases detected in Pakistan, tally rises to 37

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 19 : The regional reference laboratory for polio eradication at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, said on Friday that wild poliovirus type-1 has been detected among three children in Balochistan and one child from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dawn reported.
The four new cases have taken the tally of polio cases in Pakistan to 37 so far. The children who have been affected by the wild poliovirus include a girl from Pishin, two boys from Chaman and Noshki in Balochistan and a girl from the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to an official of the regional reference laboratory for polio eradication.
Of the 37 polio cases detected in Pakistan this year, the official said that 20 have been reported in Balochistan, 10 in Sindh and five from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one each from Punjab and Islamabad, according to Dawn report.
The official said, "genetic sequencing of the cases is underway." He said, "These were the first polio cases from Noshki and Lakki Marwat this year." He noted Chaman and Pishin had reported one poliovirus case each earlier this year too.
According to officials, the fight against poliovirus in Balochistan and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suffered in 2023 and early 2024, as immunisation campaigns were either staggered or postponed due to local protests, insecurity and community boycotts, Dawn reported.
Noshki is located on the border with Afghanistan and shares a border with Quetta and Mastung districts, where environmental samples have tested positive for WPV1 in recent months, reflecting virus circulation, while Lakki Marwat has reported multiple positive environmental samples.
According to Dawn report, a polio vaccination campaign will be launched across the nation on October 28 to vaccinate over 45 million children aged below five years against paralytic polio.