North Waziristan announced Pakistan’s first polio case

Wild poliovirus paralyzed a 15-month-old boy in North Waziristan, the first such case in Pakistan in over a year, it was revealed on Friday.

It is also the third instance of wild poliovirus to be reported internationally this year, according to a statement released by the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC).

The polio laboratory at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad verified the presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in a child from North Waziristan on April 22 with the onset of paralysis on April 9, according to the announcement.

“A positive environmental sample collected on April 5 from Bannu was also verified by the polio laboratory.”

Pakistan had gone a year without detecting a case of polio on January 27. Balochistan reported the single case in 2021, while all other federating and administrative entities were polio-free.

“Of course, this is a tragedy for the youngster and his family, and it is also very bad for Pakistan and global polio eradication efforts.” “We are disappointed, but not discouraged,” said Aamir Ashraf, Secretary of the National Health Services.

The case was discovered in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the poliovirus was discovered in the environment late last year and an emergency action plan was already in place, he said.

“Teams from the national and provincial polio emergency operations centers have been dispatched to undertake a thorough investigation into the recent polio outbreak.”