Three New Polio Cases Raise Pakistan’s Total to 59

Karachi: Pakistan has reported three new cases of polio, raising the total for 2024 to 59. These cases were detected in Dera Ismail Khan, Karachi’s Keamari district, and Kashmore.

Dera Ismail Khan has now reported eight cases this year, with three from Keamari and one, the first, from Kashmore. Balochistan leads with 26 cases, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 16, Sindh with 15, and one each in Punjab and Islamabad.

Polio, a highly contagious virus, mainly affects children under five, particularly those with weak immunity or incomplete vaccinations.

Health authorities emphasize vaccination campaigns as crucial to combating this preventable disease. Challenges such as security concerns and vaccine misinformation persist. Parents are urged to protect their children by ensuring polio vaccinations.

Efforts are underway to address these challenges by reaching unvaccinated children, countering vaccine hesitancy, and integrating health services to eliminate polio entirely.