Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —
Polio is spreading again in Pakistan, with authorities saying more than 1 million children were left unvaccinated last month, raising the stakes they face in eradicating one of the world’s most intractable diseases. It highlights the issues.
Pakistani authorities reported more than a dozen new polio cases in October, bringing the total number of infections this year to 39, but only a fraction of the number of cases last year, when the South Asian country appeared to be on the brink of eradicating the virus. There were 6 people.
Ayesha Raza, Pakistan’s prime minister’s point person on polio eradication, said the recent rise in cases was due to low vaccine uptake. He said around 1 million children missed out on polio vaccination in September, further widening existing immunity gaps since COVID-19 disrupted immunization efforts. said.
Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects children under the age of five. It attacks the nervous system and can cause paralysis, respiratory problems, and even death.
It is primarily spread through contaminated water and food, and there is no cure. However, it can be prevented with a vaccine. Thanks to vaccination campaigns, polio cases around the world have fallen by more than 99% since the 1980s.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), polio remains endemic in only two countries, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, but the UN health agency recently reported that polio has died in the Gaza Strip after more than a year of outbreaks caused by Israel. He warned that sexual diseases were on the rise again. shelling of Palestinian enclaves.
Pakistan’s vaccination program, home to more than 240 million people, has struggled in part due to historic distrust of foreign health care providers. These concerns were further fueled by allegations that US intelligence officials used a fake vaccination program in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in 2011 as part of the capture of Osama bin Laden.
Religious beliefs and a lack of awareness about the dangers of polio also hinder public health efforts. International NGOs and Pakistani authorities have been active in recent years to dispel rumors and vaccinate children, but misinformation continues to spread.
Most of Pakistan’s recent infections have been concentrated in southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan, where local officials say widespread misinformation and distrust of health care providers have left parents struggling. are reluctant to vaccinate their children.
Most of the children recently infected with the disease were partially vaccinated but had not completed all four required shots, said Raza, the official.
Raza said more cases are likely to be reported as Pakistan increases surveillance efforts.
“A lot of work is being done to fill in the gaps that we have missed,” she said.
The rise in polio cases in Pakistan also comes as a result of escalating violent attacks on vaccination clinics targeting police and security officials.
Militants have targeted Pakistan’s anti-polio campaign for decades, with some claiming the vaccine is a Western plot used to sterilize children.
According to a CNN tally, there have been 27 attacks on polio workers this year in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtankhwa province, according to police officials.
In September, armed men killed a police officer guarding a polio vaccination site in the northwestern city of Bannu, sparking protests. That same month, another shooting in the northwestern city of Bajaur killed a police officer and a polio worker.
Aftab Kakar, head of Balochistan’s emergency operations center, said protests, insecurity and community boycotts had disrupted the vaccination campaign, resulting in “missed children who could continue transmitting the virus.” A group remained.”
Health workers marked children’s fingers to indicate whether they have been vaccinated. But in some cases, children are mistakenly marked as vaccinated when they haven’t, Kakar said.
Despite the recent surge in cases, Pakistani authorities remain optimistic that they can contain the spread of the disease. The country will launch a new national polio vaccination campaign on October 28, aiming to inoculate 45 million children under the age of five.
“Polio eradication is Pakistan’s top priority,” Pakistan’s Polio Eradication Program posted on social media.
“The unified plan with states aims to end polio transmission by 2025.”
