43rd Polio Case Confirmed in Pakistan as Nationwide Vaccination Campaign Continues

Islamabad: The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the 43rd case of Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) in Pakistan for the year 2024. The case was detected in a child from Chagai District in Balochistan, marking it as the first reported instance in the district this year.

According to Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, the newly confirmed case is part of a wider outbreak that has seen 22 cases reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, seven from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. Genetic sequencing of samples collected from the child in Chagai is currently underway to further understand the transmission patterns of the virus.

A national polio vaccination campaign is in progress, running from 28 October to 3 November, with the aim of immunizing over 45 million children under the age of five. Health authorities emphasize the importance of parental cooperation in ensuring that children receive two drops of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) to prevent the debilitating effects of polio.

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