Pakistan's Polio Cases Rise to 59 in 2024 with Three New Confirmations
Click to start listening
Islamabad, Dec 3 (NationPress) Pakistan has confirmed three additional cases of polio, raising the overall number of occurrences in the country for 2024 to 59.
As per a statement from the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the NIH has validated the presence of Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1) in three children from various regions across the nation, as reported by the Xinhua news agency late Monday night.
The NIH reported that one of the cases was identified in Dera Ismail Khan district, while the other two were confirmed in the southern port city of Karachi and the southern district of Kashmore.
In light of a significant resurgence of WPV1, Pakistan is undertaking comprehensive measures, the NIH stated. Among the confirmed cases, 26 are from Balochistan province, 16 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 15 from Sindh province, and one each from Punjab province and the capital Islamabad.
The NIH has called upon the public to ensure that their children under the age of five receive the oral polio vaccine during every anti-polio campaign.
"The upcoming mass vaccination is scheduled for mid-December, aiming to immunize over 44 million children with the vaccine," the NIH stated, emphasizing the importance of parents ensuring vaccination for all children under five to protect them from the ongoing polio outbreak.
