Poliovirus: WHO prolongs travel bans on Pakistan

The World Health Organization (WHO) has prolonged travel restrictions on Pakistan for 90 days due to an epidemic of polio cases.

The extension was announced during the November 6 meeting of the WHO Emergency Committee concerning the global dissemination of poliovirus at WHO headquarters, as stated in an official announcement.

The Emergency Committee assessed the information regarding wild poliovirus (WPV1) and circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV). The Secretariat submitted a progress report for impacted IHR States Parties under Temporary Recommendations.

The committee also assessed the measures implemented by the Pakistani government to mitigate the rising incidence of poliovirus cases.

The WHO raised alarms on the rising incidence of polio cases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan has documented 59 cases of the debilitating sickness in 2024 until now.

The National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) for Polio Eradication has revealed that the recent cases originated from Dera Ismail Khan, Kemari, and Kashmore.

The NEOC verified that all impacted children tested positive for Wild Polio Virus Type 1.

Balochistan reports 26 polio cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 16, Sindh 15, Punjab one, and Islamabad one.

Health authorities persist in their endeavors to mitigate the virus’s transmission via vaccination campaigns and public awareness activities.

Symptoms and Risks
Polio is an exceedingly contagious illness induced by a virus. It infiltrates the nerve system and can induce complete paralysis within hours.

The poliovirus is primarily transmitted by person-to-person contact via the fecal-oral route, or less commonly, through a common vehicle such as contaminated water or food, and it proliferates in the intestine. The initial symptoms include fever, lethargy, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and limb discomfort.

One in 200 infections results in irreversible paralysis, typically affecting the legs. Among individuals with paralysis, 5–10% succumb when their respiratory muscles become incapacitated.

The illness predominantly impacts youngsters below the age of five. Nonetheless, individuals of any age who are unvaccinated may get the disease.

The debilitating condition has no cure; it can only be prevented. The polio vaccination, administered repeatedly, can confer lifelong protection to a child.

Two vaccines are available: the oral polio vaccine and the inactivated polio vaccine. Both are efficacious and secure, utilized in various combinations globally, contingent upon local epidemiological and programmatic conditions, to guarantee optimal protection for populations.

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