The nationwide tally of polio virus rose to 45 after two new cases emerged

• The National Institutes of Health says there are two new cases of wild poliovirus type 1.
• Polio virus paralyzes girl, boy in Lakki Marwat, Di Khan.
• Balochistan records the highest number of cases this year.

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Two new cases of wild polio virus infection have emerged in the country, bringing the total nationwide to 45, the National Emergency Operations Center said on Saturday.

The National Emergency Operations Committee said that one case of polio virus was detected in a girl from Lakki Marwat, and the other in a boy from Dera Ismail Khan.

According to the Regional Polio Eradication Reference Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the two new cases of wild poliovirus are type 1, News I mentioned.

This is the second case of polio this year in each of these regions, where environmental samples have already tested positive for wild poliovirus type 1, confirming the high risk of transmission of the virus in the region.

Health workers said they were trying to track transmission patterns of the virus as genetic sequencing of samples collected from infected children was in full swing.

Of the 45 cases detected in Pakistan this year, 22 cases were reported from Balochistan, 12 cases from Sindh, 9 cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one case each from Punjab and Islamabad.

The polio vaccination campaign is currently ongoing at the national level in the country and continues until November 3, with the aim of vaccinating more than 45 million children under the age of five against the virus.

Since Pakistan is one of only two countries where wild poliovirus transmission has not been eliminated, health officials are urging parents to actively participate in the upcoming nationwide polio vaccination campaign.

Officials stress the importance of full participation because incomplete vaccination coverage leaves communities vulnerable to the continued spread and reemergence of polio.

The importance of the campaign is evident in the persistence of the virus, which officials say is due to various challenges in vaccination coverage, including vaccine refusal, high population mobility, and gaps in access to remote areas.

Since its launch in 1994, Pakistan’s polio eradication program has largely contained the virus. However, recent genetic traces show that WPV1 is still spreading in previously controlled areas.

The current challenge is to eradicate the last strongholds of polio through sustained vaccination and public cooperation.