Polio cases rise in Pakistan, Afghanistan

QUETTA, Pakistan: Polio cases have seen a sudden spike in Pakistan and Afghanistan, endangering global efforts to eradicate the disease.

The World Health Organisation on September 30, issued a statement warning about the rising number of polio cases in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It noted that two cases were reported in Kandahar province and one in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, according to Khaama.

The surge in polio cases in Afghanistan comes amid the banning of vaccinations by the Taliban regime in the country, according to several reports.

The WHO confirmed three new polio cases in Pakistan, spread across the country, taking the tally to 26 cases.

According to the World Health Organisation, Polio is caused by the poliovirus, which is a highly infectious virus that invades the nervous system. It spreads through person-to-person contact, or by consuming contaminated food or water. The virus can be transmitted through the faecal-oral route, or by droplets from the throat of an infected person.

The symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, fatigue, and limb pain. Polio can be prevented by getting the polio vaccine, which is given multiple times and can protect a child for life. There are two vaccines available: oral polio vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine, as noted by WHO.

Khaama noted that according to statistics, since the beginning of this year, more than 20 polio cases have been recorded in Afghanistan and 24 cases in Pakistan.

Previously, WHO’s Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari said, “Afghanistan and Pakistan must work together. To interrupt transmission, we need both countries to engage bilaterally on this shared threat.” However, efforts remain scant due to in-effective political engagement between the two governments as tensions around the border have overshadowed medical interventions and efforts in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Global eradication efforts led by various organisations such as UNICEF and WHO have seen significant improvements and fall in the number of cases of polio.

However, Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to remain the only two countries in the world that are endemic to polio and still have active cases.

-ANI