Islamabad [Pakistan], December 27 : Two more cases of polio were reported in Pakistan on Thursday, taking the number of cases in 2024 to 67, Dawn reported.
An official of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health said that two cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) were reported in Tank and Kashmore. This is the fourth polio case from Tank and second from Kashmore in 2023.
Pakistan has witnessed a resurgence of WPV1 in 2024, with 67 cases reported so far. Of these, 27 were reported in Balochistan, 19 were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19 were reported in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Islamabad, according to Dawn report.
The new cases were reported two days after a child from Balochistan's Qila Abdullah district was crippled due to the disease. In addition to 67 reported cases, the presence of poliovirus was detected in environmental samples collected from over 80 districts.
Earlier this month, a vaccination drive was held in three provinces. However, the vaccination drive in Balochistan was halted till December 30, Dawn reported.
At the time, the Balochistan Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) coordinator Inamul Haq said the polio vaccination drive would commence from December 30 across the province.
He said a high-level meeting held on December 16 reviewed preparations for the campaign. It was observed during the meeting, which was attended by officials from all districts, that further preparations were essential to ensure an effective campaign in the wake of the widespread presence of polio virus in Balochistan.
Sources said that the polio campaign was postponed due to the strike of health workers on the appeal of a health alliance which had announced they would not take part in the vaccination campaign until the acceptance of their demands, Dawn reported.
The demands of the workers include recruitment of doctors and other health officials on a permanent basis, end to public-private partnership in hospitals, and provision of medicines, equipment and other medical facilities.
Despite the widespread prevalence of the disease, the sources said the members of the health alliance had threatened Pakistani authorities even before the announcement of the polio drive that they would boycott all campaigns if their demands were not accepted.