KARACHI: Authorities on Saturday confirmed that a fresh case was reported in Sindh’s Hyderabad, taking the total number of polio cases in Pakistan to 24 this year. 

While the latest case from Hyderabad marked the city’s second polio case, it also became the fifth polio case recorded in the Sindh province this year, sources at the National Emergency Operations Centre confirmed.

The latest case was diagnosed in a two-and-a-half-year-old child from Hyderabad’s Neronkot area, who was left paralysed by the virus. 

A day earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had reported its second after a 10-month-old baby girl in the province’s district Kohat was diagnosed with the virus, which left the child paralysed.

The infant from Kohat’s Tehsil Darra Adamkhel had contracted the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) on September 12.

Before that, authorities had confirmed that a 30-month-old boy from Pishin, Balochistan, was struck by the poliovirus marking the province’s 15th case this year.

All these cases were reported within this week marking almost a daily growth in the number of polio cases, leading to increased scrutiny of the country’s polio eradication efforts.

So far, Balochistan remains the epicentre of the outbreak with 15 confirmed cases, while Sindh has now reported five. Additionally, Punjab and Islamabad have each recorded one case, while KP has reported two.

Earlier this week, Muhammad Anwarul Haq, the national coordinator for the Polio Emergency Operations Centre, emphasised the urgency of addressing gaps in efforts to fight this disease.

“Every missed vaccination is an opportunity for the virus to win,” he warned.

Calling for collective action from both the government and the public, Haq highlighted that the solution lies in ensuring timely and repeated vaccinations for all children.

Meanwhile, Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s focal person for polio eradication, also voiced frustration at the lack of progress and immunisation coverage as a result of parental refusals, often due to misinformation or mistrust.

Pakistan’s polio eradication programme organised an anti-polio campaign in 115 districts of the country this month in which 33 million children under the age of five years were given polio vaccinations.

However, the programme continues to face significant challenges, particularly in areas where insecurity, misinformation, and parental refusals hinder vaccination campaigns.

Despite these obstacles, authorities have updated the National Polio Eradication Emergency Operations Plan and have planned two major door-to-door vaccination campaigns later this year in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.

ISLAMABAD: The total number of poliovirus cases in Pakistan climbed 23 after a 10-month-old baby girl in district Kohat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was diagnosed with the virus.

The infant from Tehsil Darra Adamkhel, which marked KP’s second polio case this year, was left paralysed on September 12 after contracting the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).

This second case in the country’s northwestern province comes days after it confirmed its first polio case in the Mohmand district on September 6.

Earlier, the province had remained polio-free following the serious and non-stop efforts of the provincial government, polio workers and national and international organisations working together towards the polio eradication.

These efforts were particularly observed in KP’s southern districts, including Kohat, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Upper and Lower Waziristan, Kurram tribal district, and Orakzai district.

The latest polio case in KP was reported a day after authorities on Wednesday confirmed that a 30-month-old boy from Pishin, Balochistan, had been struck by the poliovirus, marking the province’s 15th case.

So far, Balochistan remains the epicenter of the outbreak with 15 confirmed cases, while Sindh has reported four. Meanwhile, Punjab and Islamabad have each recorded one case, while KP has reported its second.

Such rapid growth in the number of cases has resulted in increased scrutiny of the country’s polio eradication efforts.

According to officials from the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI), the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed the presence of WPV1 in the latest case from Kohat.

The virus’s continued circulation has prompted health officials to intensify efforts to close immunity gaps in vulnerable areas.

The confirmation of the latest polio case comes a day after Muhammad Anwarul Haq, the national coordinator for the Polio Emergency Operations Centre, emphasised the urgency of addressing gaps in efforts to fight this disease.

“Every missed vaccination is an opportunity for the virus to win,” he warned.

Haq called for collective action from both the government and the public, highlighting that the solution lies in ensuring timely and repeated vaccinations for all children.

Pakistan’s polio eradication programme organised an anti-polio campaign in 115 districts of the country this month in which 33 million children under the age of five years were given polio vaccinations.

However, the programme continues to face significant challenges, particularly in areas where insecurity, misinformation, and parental refusals hinder vaccination campaigns.

Despite these obstacles, authorities have updated the National Polio Eradication Emergency Operations Plan and have planned two major door-to-door vaccination campaigns later this year in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.

Additionally, Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s focal person for polio eradication, voiced frustration at the lack of progress, emphasising the pivotal role parents play in halting the spread of virus.

“Each new case is a heartbreaking reminder that we are failing our children,” she stated. “The solution is simple: timely and repeated vaccination.”

The polio emergency remains a national priority, with health officials urging communities to cooperate and support vaccination efforts to protect the country’s children from the crippling disease.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Thursday issued a nationwide alert warning about the spread of dengue fever in 10 major cities by October after monsoon rains. 

The dengue outbreak is expected to spread in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Larkana and Multan, said the PMD in its statement. 

Dengue fever may also occur in areas affected by rains after monsoon, said the PMD, adding that the fever has badly affected the health of people across the country.

Moreover, the infection has been spreading since mid-September. The department also revealed that an increase in dengue virus was observed from September 20 to December 5 after the monsoon in 10 years.

The meteorological department said the vector-borne disease becomes active if the temperature is between 26°C to 29°C and it gets favourable environment when humidity is close to 60%.

“All stakeholders should take proactive measures to prevent the spread of dengue,” the PMD said in its statement.

Pakistan, especially Punjab, has been gripped by dengue virus with hundreds of cases being reported on a weekly basis.

In response to the rising number of cases, the Health Department has issued an advisory urging the public to maintain clean and dry surroundings to prevent the spread of virus.

NEW DELHI: India has reported an mpox case — a man from the southern state of Kerala — of the rapidly spreading clade 1b variant, marking South Asia’s first case from the new clade on Monday. 

Health Ministry spokesperson Manisha Verma confirmed the strain after news agency ANI cited official sources as saying that the mpox case reported in the Malappuram district of Kerala last week belonged to clade 1.

The patient is a 38-year-old man who had travelled from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and had been admitted to the government medical college hospital in the district, Kerala authorities said last week.

The state health department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for details of the case on Monday.

India, the world’s most populous nation, had so far not reported an mpox case from the new strain but federal authorities had issued an advisory this month to all states to remain vigilant and be prepared to address potential cases.

The caution followed the rapid spread that prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare the outbreak a global health emergency after the new offshoot, first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), began spreading to neighbouring countries.

India had reported about 30 cases and one death from the older strain, known as clade 2, between 2022 and March this year, and one more clade 2 case earlier this month.

Two strains of mpox are now spreading in Congo — the endemic form of the virus, clade 1, and the new clade 1b strain, with the term “clade” referring to a form of the virus.

Mpox transmits through close physical contact, including sexual contact, but unlike previous global pandemics such as COVID-19 there is no evidence it spreads easily through the air.

It typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and is usually mild but can kill.