2016’s First Polio Case Reported In Pakistan And Afghanistan

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world to report polio cases. A 34-month-old from Pakistan and a 60-month-old from Afghanistan have been affected.

The first cases of polio for the year 2016 have been reported in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Pakistan, the case was confirmed by Polio Virology Laboratory at the National Institute of Health.

An official of the Ministry of National Health Services said the sample collected from a 34-month-old in January confirmed that the child had the onset of polio. A resident of Gadap town in Karachi, he had received two doses during routine immunization and seven during different polio campaigns.

Poliomyelitis - About
Polio is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. It results in paralysis and generally affects people of all age groups, children being more susceptible

‘In 2015, a total of 54 cases of polio were reported in Pakistan. About 80,000 children have not been immunized during the last few campaigns held in Afghanistan.’

"Malnutrition was the major reason of the disease because immunity level of the child was very low," the official said.

The official said the affected child in Afghanistan was 60 months old. He had received only two polio vaccines.

"The child belongs to Kandahar. According to reports at least 80,000 children in Afghanistan were missed during last few campaigns," he said.

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Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world which have been transferring the polio virus to each other. The main reason is that the two countries share a 2,500km long border.

Children are vaccinated at legal entry points of the border but since Pakistan is hosting 1.6 million Afghan refugees, a large number of people cross the border illegally from different routes and it is not possible to vaccinate them at the border.

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Source-IANS

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