ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported fifth polio case of this year in the southwestern city of Quetta, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) for Polio Eradication said on Saturday.
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus mainly affecting children under the age of five years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death.
The affected two-year-old child developed onset of paralysis in his legs on April 29, according to the NEOC. He became progressively ill with weakness spreading to his arms, and unfortunately passed away in a hospital in Karachi a few weeks later.
According to the Regional Reference Laboratory at the National Institute of Health, samples taken from him, his brother and cousin who live in the same house confirmed the presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).
“This case is a sad reminder that until we eradicate poliovirus, no child anywhere is safe from this terrible disease,” said Dr. Malik Mukhtar Bharath, coordinator to the prime minister on national health services.
Four of the five cases this year were reported from Balochistan and the government was focusing its efforts on closing the outbreak and enhancing polio vaccine and routine vaccination coverage rates in the province to ensure strengthened immunity for children, he added.
More than 50 environmental samples have tested positive for poliovirus this year in Balochistan, including 21 from Quetta alone.
Anwarul Haq, the NEOC coordinator, said a detailed case investigation was being conducted to identify the origins of the virus that caused the infection and identify populations that may not have received the polio vaccine.
“The Pakistan Polio Programme has faced challenges in implementing uninterrupted polio campaigns in Quetta block districts and Balochistan over the past few months due to law-and-order situation and local protests,” he said.
“These campaign disruptions can have grave consequences for children’s immunity, especially in the constant presence of poliovirus.”
This is the fifth polio case reported from Pakistan in 2024 and the first from Quetta in four years. Last year, six polio cases were reported in the country.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains endemic.
