Khyber Pakhtunhwa has reported its first poliovirus case while two other children were also diagnosed with the disease pushing the country’s tally to 21 of this year.

The virus has been detected in a 15-month-old boy in Balochistan’s Killa Abdullah, a three-year-old boy in Karachi’s Keamari district and a nine-month-old girl in KP’s Mohmand district.

The virus primarily affects children under the age of five years, who are malnourished or have weak immunity because of being under-vaccinated or not vaccinated for polio and other childhood diseases.

The illness invades the nervous system and causes paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease.

Despite rigorous efforts by the government towards eradication of the disease, Pakistan remains in the grip of poliovirus. It is one of the two remaining polio-endemic countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, and the number of cases on a yearly basis has significantly dropped in the country.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on September 8 launched a special anti-poliovirus campaign to ensure the complete eradication of the crippling disease from the country.

Under the drive, around 286,000 polio workers were slated to administer polio vaccines to some 30 million children under the age of five in the door-to-door campaign from September 9 to 15.

Last month, the Sindh government had also commenced a 10-day immunisation drive against the disease.

The virus’s spread is not limited to these three provinces as Islamabad reported its first polio case in 16 years when the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio at the National Institute of Health confirmed the detection of the type 1 (WPV1) variant of the disease in a child from Union Council Rural 4 of the federal capital on September 6.

So far, Balochistan has reported the highest number of poliovirus cases with 14 children being affected by the disease. Whereas, Sindh’s tally stands at four and Punjab, Islamabad and KP have reported one case each so far.

Meanwhile, taking action on the first poliovirus case in the KP, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has directed the health secretary to immediately suspend the relevant district health officer (DHO) and Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) coordinator.

Furthermore, the chief minister announced that the KP government will provide treatment and support for the polio-affected girl from Mohmand.

Turkish doctors successfully separated Pakistani twin girls, Mirha and Minal, who were conjoined at the skull after a marathon 14-hour surgery performed in two stages, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.

The surgery was conducted at Bilkent City Hospital, Ankara, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to the family’s plea for help as they were unable to find a suitable treatment in Pakistan.

After being contacted by renowned London-based pediatric neurosurgeon Owase Jeelani, Erdogan assured Jeelani that the babies’ treatment would be carried out in Turkey, as per Anadolu.

The 11-month-old twin girls travelled to the Turkish capital in May and were placed under close medical supervision.

The final 14-hour operation took place on July 19 by a surgical team led by Dr Jeelani along with Turkish physicians Dr Harun Demirci and Dr Hasan Murat Ergani.

Emphasising the extensive teamwork involved in the operation, the hospital’s head of the Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Namik Yasar Ozbek told the Turkish news agency: “The babies had some issues with sitting and hand movements due to their conjoined state.”

“Post-surgery, our neurologists, physical therapists and neurodevelopmental specialists resolved these issues,” he added.

“The babies are now doing very well, starting to use their hands and arms, and gaining head control. In 10 days, they will celebrate their first birthdays separately,” Ozbek said.

“Seeing the babies healthy now is an incredible joy,” said Turkish physician Ergani, who was part of Dr Jeelani-led surgical team, adding: “When we successfully separated them, the entire medical team looked at each other and applauded. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life.”

Speaking to the news agency, the twins’ parents, Rehan Ali and Nazia Parveen, expressed their profound gratitude to President Erdogan, the medical team, and everyone involved in their children’s treatment.

“We are very happy and indebted to everyone who contributed,” said the father, adding that they hope to meet Erdogan to thank him personally.

ISLAMABAD: A 44-year-old man, hailing from the Gujarat district in Punjab, has tested positive for monkeypox virus or mpox after arriving in Pakistan from a gulf state marking the seventh mpox case in the country this year and the sixth since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared an emergency last month.

After being suspected of carrying the virus, the patient, who landed at Islamabad Airport on September 14 (Saturday), was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

The health officials confirmed that samples sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) tested positive for mpox. The patient is reported to be in stable condition.

“This is the seventh confirmed case of mpox in Pakistan this year,” said a health official in the federal health ministry.

“Five previous cases were confirmed at the Khyber Medical University laboratory in Peshawar, while this latest patient is being treated in Islamabad,” the official said.

Mpox is a virus that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions and, while usually mild, it can kill. Children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are all at higher risk of complications.

Earlier on Wednesday, one more mpox case was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), taking the total tally of the virus to six in Pakistan, provincial Health Minister Syed Qasim Ali Shah said

Moreover on Sunday, at least three passengers travelling to Karachi were suspected of monkeypox in a single day at the Jinnah International Airport, Geo News reported citing sources.

All three passengers returned to Pakistan from Middle Eastern countries, the sources added.

Following global health concerns, WHO has approved MVA-BN as the first pre-qualified vaccine against monkeypox virus, according to The News on Saturday.

“This first pre-qualification of a vaccine against mpox is an important step in our fight against the disease, both in the context of the current outbreaks in Africa and in future,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The development comes as the United Nations’ health centric-body had declared the mpox outbreak as an “international health emergency” in July.

The spike in mpox cases in Peshawar has triggered concerns among health experts and the public alike, with calls for increased awareness and stricter travel guidelines.

Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely, particularly in light of the WHO’s recent emergency declaration regarding the virus, he added and lauded Border Health Services (BHS) to finally detect an mpox case other than Peshawar.

Three suspected mpox patients were sent home in Karachi after one showed no symptoms and the tests for the other two came back negative, according to the Sindh health department.

Geo News, citing sources, reported on Sunday that they were suspected of being infected with mpox after returning to Pakistan from Middle Eastern countries at the Jinnah International Airport. 

The patient with no symptoms of the virus was sent home yesterday, the health department stated that the other two suspects, were also discharged from the hospital after testing negative. 

The two had arrived in Karachi from Jeddah on Saturday, according to the health department.

All three individuals were immediately taken to the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre, as confirmed by hospital officials.

Currently, there are six confirmed mpox cases in Pakistan, with the majority reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Mpox is a virus that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions and, while usually mild, it can kill. Children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are all at higher risk of complications, reported Reuters.

The infectious disease has African countries in turmoil including DR Congo where there have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, the majority of the deaths occurred among children.

The outbreak began in January 2023 in the Congo and in August this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of the disease a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant was identified.