Polio resurgence in Pakistan: Vaccine hesitancy and security issues hinder eradication efforts

Islamabad [Pakistan], February 9 (ANI): The existence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been verified by environmental samples taken from 21 districts in Pakistan, Dawn reported.
According to a representative of Pakistan's National Institute of Health's (NIH) Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication, the samples were taken from the following locations: Dera Bugti, Hub, Khuzdar, Noshki, Nasirabad, Usta Muhammad, Zhob, Lasbela, Islamabad, Charsadda, Peshawar, Swabi, Tank, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Jhang, Lahore, Multan, Rahimyar Khan, and Karachi East as cited by a report published by Dawn.
26 environmental samples had positive WPV1 tests last week. Children are at risk of catching the debilitating disease since positive sewage sample results show that poliovirus is present in the neighbourhood, according to a report by Dawn.
Along with Afghanistan, Pakistan is one of the last two nations in the world where polio is still a major problem. Pakistan has been affected by a "significant resurgence of WPV1," officials said as quoted by Dawn.
"Last year, the country reported 73 cases of the disease. Of these, 27 are from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 22 from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Islamabad," they added as quoted by Dawn.
Despite international efforts to eradicate the virus, progress has been hindered by obstacles like misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, and security concerns.
The first statewide polio vaccination campaign of this year will conclude tomorrow (Monday), having begun earlier this week. International polio eradication experts and organizations met with federal and provincial government representatives in Islamabad last month to discuss the eradication effort, Dawn reported.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme said that specialists from the WHO, Unicef, CDC, Gates Foundation, Rotary International, Gavi, and USAID attended the three-day Technical Advisory Group conference.
The pledge to eradicate polio was reaffirmed at the summit. It stated that complete immunization coverage, particularly in the most impacted areas, and sufficient support for polio teams were essential to polio eradication in 2025, according to a report by Dawn. (ANI)