ISLAMABAD: A new polio case has been found in Kohat, bringing to 23 the tally of polio cases found to date this year in the country despite repeated countrywide campaigns against the crippling disease.

Of the 23 cases, 15 have been found in Balochistan, 4 in Sindh, 2 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and one each in Punjab and Islamabad.

According to the Reg­ional Reference Labora­tory for Polio Eradication of the National Institute of Health (NIH), the new case has been found in Kohat, KP, where a 10-month-old child has become paralysed, marking the second case in the province and 23rd in the country this year, highlighting the constant threat of poliovirus spread to children nationwide.

A polio expert, wishing not to be quoted, told Dawn that it was a testing time for the new leadership as the widespread immunity gap in the country would lead to more cases in the next couple of months despite a lot of hard work on the ground.

“Perhaps our media colleagues will also need to explain how the immunity and epidemiology cycles play in vaccine-preventable diseases like polio. The extraordinary hard work of 2020-21 gave us a 15-month period with no polio case. Afterwards, there were new challenges and programme lapses in south Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to begin with during 2021-22 season that prompted outbreak in south KP with 20 cases.

“The programme, unfortunately, didn’t wake up and complacency spread still further to rest of the country during 2022-23 letting the current surge from mid-2023,” he said.

“The current immunity gap at present is huge and widespread as depicted by 23 cases and 336 environmental sample (ES) detections this year so far and many more are likely to follow in the next quarter.

The expert said that the media has a critical role to play for educating the masses that the current risk is real.

“Parents must fulfil their religious and social responsibility to ensure that their own children as well those around them are fully protected through up-to-date routine immunisation as well as receiving oral polio vaccine (OPV) administered in upcoming door-to-door campaigns,” he said.

Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq, in a statement, reiterated the importance of repeated polio vaccination to protect children from the crippling virus.

“It is devastating that too many children are suffering the consequences of missed vaccination opportunities. Polio is a terrible disease that alters a child’s life forever, snatching the chance to live up to their full potential,” she said.

Urging parents, caregivers and communities to collectively take responsibility for the well-being of all children around them, she said: “Poliovirus is in your area and the consequences of a polio infection for children are devastating and irreversible. The only means to protect them is to ensure that all children under the age of five in your home and communities are vaccinated with multiple doses of oral polio vaccine and have completed their routine immunisation doses.”

Consistent implementation of polio campaigns in KP has faced challenges in recent months due to several factors like persistent population movement — internal and cross-border, insecurity, community mistrust, demands-based boycotts and disruptions to access to children in polio high-risk areas.

Kohat has reported four positive environmental samples this year, while its neighbouring district of Peshawar has reported positive sewage samples for nearly a year now, indicating that the virus is silently spreading in the region and putting children at risk from a preventable disease.

NEOC Coordinator Muhammad Anwarul Haq said that the polio programme was committed to identifying the gaps and challenges that were hampering progress and to address them.

“The virus has been showing immunity gaps and where we have missed children in the past. It is imperative for us to close these immunity gaps. Let’s unite against polio as a nation,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2024