Tag: polio cases

  • Anti-polio campaign to start in Sindh from October 24

    Anti-polio campaign to start in Sindh from October 24

    Anti-polio campaign in Sindh will be carried out from October 24 to 30, it has been announced. Around 6.5 million children would be administered the polio vaccination.
    The anti-polio drive will be carried out with special focus on flood-affected areas.

    Sindh Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho and Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput chaired a meeting on the upcoming anti-polio campaign on Friday.
    The meeting was informed that despite widespread campaigns, environmental samples of polio genetic clusters have been discovered.

    Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said that the biggest challenge at the moment, in the wake of floods, is to reach every single child and vaccinate against polio.

    She continued by saying that a thorough plan is required to address both the places hit by the storm and those where water is still standing. Vaccinators might be sent there on boats to administer the drops to children.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

  • Polio virus detected in Lahore, three other cities

    Polio virus detected in Lahore, three other cities

    Pakistan’s National Polio Laboratory in Islamabad has found Type 1 wild poliovirus (WPV1) in environmental samples collected from different cities. The presence of the virus was confirmed in samples collected from Bannu, Peshawar and Swat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Lahore in Punjab.

    Talking about it, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination said, “This is the seventh positive environmental sample from Bannu, third from Peshawar and Lahore each, and second from Swat this year.”

    Earlier in August, Pakistan’s federal authorities confirmed the presence of the poliovirus in seven cities after samples were collected from various cities in the country.
    Lahore and Islamabad were declared polio-free in April 2021.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

    However, polio has been rearing its head up in countries where the virus was eradicated decades ago. In June, a 20-year-old man in New York was afflicted with the virus, resulting in paralysis. The strain that affected him was the kind that is found in vaccines, and then behaves like a wild version of the virus. The man had not been vaccinated against the disease, however, more worryingly, he had not traveled internationally.

    The same strain of the virus has been detected in sewer samples in Jerusalem. Israel has recorded its first polio case in 30 years. The United Kingdom too has found the same strain in London.

    Polio is a potentially fatal disease that can cause paralysis if it spreads to the spinal cord. One in 10 polio fever afflicted patients die. The disease is more severe in children than it is in adults.

  • PM wants collective efforts to eradicate polio, three cases in two months

    PM wants collective efforts to eradicate polio, three cases in two months

    Pakistan reported its third polio case this year, a few months after Pakistan marked one year of being polio-free.

    Addressing a meeting of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication in Islamabad on Wednesday, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif urged for a concerted effort to eradicate polio in Pakistan. The meeting was informed that three polio cases were reported in North Waziristan during the months of April and May this year but no polio case was reported in the period between February 2021 and March 2022. PM Shehbaz expressed his concern about recent polio cases in the country and stated that the federal government will provide all available assistance and cooperation in the fight against the illness.

    He said that all parties, including federal departments, provincial governments, and international organisations, had contributed significantly to the country’s polio eradication campaign. PM kickstarted a polio campaign today (May 18).

    Read more- Pakistan reports two polio cases, girl and boy paralysed

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

  • Bill Gates reaches Pakistan on first-ever visit

    Bill Gates reaches Pakistan on first-ever visit

    Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), has arrived in Pakistan for a one-day visit. Gates will meet with Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi. He will also visit the National Command and Operation Centre headquarters. Gates will pay a visit to the COVID-19 treatment facility in Chak Shahzad.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, in a tweet, said, “It’s a pleasure to welcome Mr Bill Gates on his first-ever visit to Pakistan. Planned engagements include a review of progress on polio eradication; visits to NCOC and Ehsaas program as well as meeting the President, the PM and health leadership of the provinces.”

    Last year in October, Gates, in a telephonic conversation with Imran Khan, praised Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate polio and at the same time, pledged his continued support against the disease so that no child in Pakistan is affected by the disease in the future.

  • Farhan Saeed lauds polio workers

    Farhan Saeed lauds polio workers

    Farhan Saeed has lauded polio workers for their dedication and hard work.

    Sharing a video of female polio workers walking in blankets of snow to deliver the vaccine to the children of Azad Kashmir, Saeed said: “All heroes don’t wear capes, some wear yellow vest[s].”

    Agreeing with the Suno Chanda star, his followers couldn’t stop praising the efforts of these women.

    Read more – Farhan Saeed, Urwa Hocane lash out at opposition for holding jalsas amid a pandemic

    Pakistan’s first polio vaccination campaign for 2021 started on Monday, January 11. The national polio immunization drive will last for five days and aims to vaccinate over 40 million children under the age of five across Pakistan.