Polio Cases In World

Poland urges polio vaccination after virus detected in Warsaw sewage

Poland's health authorities on Monday urged polio vaccinations for children after the virus was detected in Warsaw's sewage during regular tests this month. The state Main Sanitary Inspectorate in a statement said the presence of the virus does not necessarily mean people have been sick, but those who have not been vaccinated against polio could be at risk. The vaccinations are free in Poland for people under 19. New measures also include more intensive testing of Warsaw's sewage, renewing the vaccination stocks and updating the list of children still unvaccinated. Polio is most often spread by contact with waste from an infected person or, less frequently, through contaminated water or food. The polio virus mostly affects children under 5. Most people infected don't have symptoms, but in severe cases, polio can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis within hours, according to the World Health Organisation. It estimates that 1 in 200 polio cases results in permanent paralysis

Pakistan reports 2 new polio cases, total tally rises to 45 this year

The number of polio cases in Pakistan this year has risen to 45 after two fresh cases were detected in the country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, authorities said on Saturday. The latest cases surfaced in the Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan provinces, Geo News reported, quoting the National Emergency Operations Centre. The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed the cases as those of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1). This marks the second polio case this year from both districts, where environmental samples tested positive for WPV1, highlighting a high risk of virus transmission in the region. According to The Express Tribune newspaper, WPV1 has been detected in 76 districts from all four provinces of the county, indicating the virus' widespread circulation. The detection of new cases has jolted Pakistan's efforts to curb the spread of the crippling disease, for which a nationwide eradication programme is ongoing. The week-

Polio vaccination campaign set to resume in northern Gaza: WHO-UNICEF

Around 15,000 children under the age of ten years in the towns of North Gaza like Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun remain inaccessible and will be missed during the campaign

Yet another polio case in Pakistan pushes tally well over 43 in 2024

Pakistan's fight against poliovirus remained a tough case as yet another case of the crippling disease surfaced on Wednesday, taking the national tally of the year to 43. The new victim was reported from Chagai district of Balochistan, according to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme. The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of the 43rd Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) case in Pakistan, the statement said. It was the first polio case from Chagai, a remote district bordering Afghanistan, which is only the second country apart from Pakistan where polio remains endemic. The new case was found just days after Pakistan on Monday launched a week-long vaccination campaign with an aim of immunising more than 45 million children under the age of five. So far, 22 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, seven from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

Polio vaccinators attacked, held hostage in 2 separate incidents in Pak

Three terrorists were killed in a gunbattle when they attacked a polio vaccinators' team in Pakistan's restive northwestern province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday. In another incident, unknown militants took hostage the entire team of polio vaccinators at a dispensary in the same province, sources said here. The attack on polio vaccinators came a day after Pakistan on Monday started its third nationwide polio campaign to vaccinate 45 million children. In the first incident in Aurakzai tribal district, bordering Afghanistan, a policeman also killed in the shootout while frustrating the attack on the polio vaccinators. At least three terrorists were mowed down by the police in the fierce gunbattle and a fresh team has been rushed to the site, sources added. No group claimed responsibility for the brutal attack. In the second incident in North Waziristan's tehsil Shewa, unidentified militants took hostage the entire team of polio vaccinators at the Mamet Kot dispensary in the restiv

Pak starts new polio vaccination drive as virus detected in 16 districts

Pakistan on Monday started its third nationwide polio campaign to vaccinate 45 million children against the crippling disease as the virus was detected in the environmental samples from 16 districts. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the campaign during a ceremony at the Prime Minister's House on World Polio Day last week, the Dawn newspaper reported. He also administered polio drops to children there. The week-long vaccination campaign, which will run till November 3, aims to tackle the alarming spread of polio in the country, which has reported 41 cases this year. During the drive, special teams of health departments will go door to door to inoculate more than 45 million children. Children will also be given Vitamin-A supplements during the campaign for additional immunity, according to the report. The launch coincided with the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirming the detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1)

Pakistan launches vaccination drive amid rising polio cases nationwide

Pakistan began a nationwide vaccination campaign on Monday to protect 45 million children from polio after a surge in new cases that has hampered years of efforts to stop the disease in one of the two countries where it has never been eradicated. Pakistan regularly launches such campaigns, but violence targeting the health workers and police assigned to escort them is common. Militants falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilise children. The campaign is the third this year and will continue until Sunday in response to the alarming increase in polio cases, said Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister's adviser for the polio eradication programme. We are re-energised in our efforts to combat polio, she said in a statement. During the door-to-door campaign, children younger than 5 will be vaccinated and given drops of Vitamin A supplements to enhance their immunity. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently met with front-line health workers, urging the

Polio 'gasping' on verge of eradication from world map, says expert

Despite the complexities of poliovirus that make it difficult to stop from spreading, an expert on Thursday said that the disease is gasping and is on the verge of eradication from the global map. Heaping praise on India for playing an exemplary role in effectively dealing with polio, researcher Dr Ananda Sankar Bandyopadhyay sounded caution that any complacency could help the disease make a comeback. Bandyopadhyay, who is the Deputy Director of Technology, Research, and Analytics, Polio Team, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was speaking exclusively to PTI on the occasion of World Polio Day on Thursday. Polio has three serotypes -- type 1, type 2 and type 3. Type 2 and 3 were eradicated from the world. Poliovirus type 1 remains mainly in two countries - Pakistan and Afghanistan. So, about the global situation, we can say that polio is on the verge of eradication," he said. Besides Pakistan and Afghanistan, there are about 15 countries primarily in the African region whe

Pakistan logs 40th polio case in 2024: Why it fails to curb this endemic?

An infectious disease, Polio can cause crippling paralysis among young children. It has been virtually eradicated from the world, except for Pakistan and Afghanistan

Pakistan reports two new polio cases, total tally rises to 39 this year

Pakistan has reported 39 polio cases this year, with two fresh cases of the crippling disease being detected in the Sindh province, authorities said on Sunday. The latest cases were confirmed on Saturday in the Sanghar and Mirpurkhas districts of the province, the Dawn newspaper reported. These come after four cases were reported a day earlier, jolting the country's efforts to eradicate the poliovirus. According to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication in Islamabad, the newest victims are a girl and a boy. These are the first polio cases from Mirpurkhas and Sanghar this year, the report quoted an official as saying. The prevalence of the virus had already been confirmed in the two neighbouring districts following multiple environmental samples testing positive for WPV1 since April, the official added. In ten months of the year, Pakistan has reported 39 cases of poliovirus, of which 20 were reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, five from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an

Four new polio cases reported in Pakistan, tally rises to 32 this year

At least four new cases of polio have been reported in Pakistan, taking the tally to 32 this year, according to an official statement. Of the four new cases, three were reported from Sindh province and one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. So far this year, 16 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 10 from Sindh, four from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. Currently only two out of seven regions i.e. Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are polio-free. The virus has reached five regions, including four provinces and the federal capital, according to the official data. The Dawn newspaper reported that an official of the Health Ministry said that the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme vaccinated nearly 33 million children under the age of five during a nationwide campaign in September this year. The campaign aimed to protect children from the devastating effects of polio. A comprehensive evaluation of the campaign was conducted to assess its

161,000 children vaccinated against polio in Gaza in 2 days, says WHO

The WHO official confirmed that vaccination teams faced larger numbers of residents in Al-Maghazi, Al-Bureij and Al-Masdar

Large-scale polio vaccinations begin in Gaza after first case in 25 years

Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies on Sunday began a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory that has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war. Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving on to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the strip. The campaign began with a small number of vaccinations on Saturday and aims to reach about 640,000 children. The World Health Organisation has said Israel agreed to limited pauses in the fighting to facilitate the campaign. There were initial reports of Israeli strikes in central Gaza early Sunday, but it was not immediately known if anyone was killed or wounded. The pause ended Sunday afternoon, according to a schedule released by Israel. Hospitals in Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat confirmed that the campaign had begun. Israel has said the vaccination program will continue through Sept. 9 and last .

Polio vaccine campaign begins in Gaza amid strikes, West Bank still on edge

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus began on Saturday as Palestinians in both the Hamas-governed coastal enclave and in the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's ongoing campaigns in both regions. Children in Gaza began receiving vaccines on Saturday, the Strip's health ministry announced in a news conference, a day before the large-scale rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the United Nations World Health Organisation. Associated Press reporters saw roughly ten infants receiving doses of vaccine in the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis on Saturday afternoon. Hours earlier, Gaza's Health Ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded one of the highest daily tallies in months. Meanwhile, parts of the West Bank remained on edge Saturday as Israel's military continued its largescale military campaign, the deadliest since the

Wasn't polio wiped out? Here's why it is still problem in some countries

Polio was eliminated from most parts of the world as part of a decadeslong effort by the World Health Organisation and partners to wipe out the disease. But polio is one of the world's most infectious diseases and is still spreading in a small number of countries. The WHO and its partners want to eradicate polio in the next few years. Until it is gone from the planet, the virus will continue to trigger outbreaks anywhere children are not fully vaccinated. The recent polio infection in an unvaccinated baby in Gaza is the first time the disease has been reported in the territory in more than 25 years. What is polio? Polio is an infection caused by a virus that mostly affects children under 5. Most people infected with polio don't have any symptoms, but it can cause fever, headaches, vomiting and stiffness of the spine. In severe cases, polio can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis within hours, according to the WHO. The UN agency estimates that 1 in 200 polio cases results i

As the world grapples with rising Mpox cases, India detects a polio case

A two-year-old child in Meghalaya has been confirmed to have polio, raising concerns as India was declared polio-free by WHO in 2014. WHO is looking into the vaccine-derived infection cases

Gujarat CM launches anti-polio campaign to vaccinate 837,200 children

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday launched a state-wide anti-polio campaign, which aims to vaccinate 83.72 lakh children below the age of five, an official said. The initiative was launched to mark National Immunisation Day as part of the Children Polio Eradication Campaign 20-24, a CMO release said. "The state health department aims to vaccinate over 83.72 lakh children in the 0-5 age group. To achieve this, 1,33,956 health workers will administer drops at 33,489 polio booths across the state. From June 24 to 25, health workers will conduct door-to-door visits to administer polio drops to children," it said. Patel launched the campaign at the community centre in Mantri Niwas Complex in Gandhinagar by administering polio drops to a few children in the presence of Mayor Miraben Patel and Principal Secretary (Health) Dhananjay Dwivedi.

Pak confirms 5th polio case of year, 17 days after victim's death

Pakistan has confirmed the fifth polio case of the year, more than a fortnight after the victim's death, jolting the country's efforts to eradicate the crippling disease. The victim, a two-year-old child from Balochistan's Quetta, died on May 22 before the confirmation of the poliovirus, the Dawn newspaper reported. With the onset of paralysis on April 29, the case was confirmed after six weeks on Saturday, instead of the usual three weeks taken for diagnosis, the report said, quoting an official at the Regional Reference Laboratory of the National Institute of Health (NIH). According to the NIH, the child's legs were affected by the crippling disease initially. He was later shifted to Karachi, but his condition worsened as the disease spread to his arms. He passed away a few weeks later, the report said. The official said the child had not received a single dose of polio vaccine during routine immunisation. However, records show that he received five vaccine doses during ...

Polio vax supplies: Health secy visits OPV maker Bilthoven's Dutch plant

Bilthoven Biologicals is an arm of Serum Institute of India that makes oral polio vax

Bharat Biotech, Bilthoven Biologicals collaborate for oral polio vaccines

Bharat Biotech on Tuesday said it has collaborated with the Netherlands-based Bilthoven Biologicals B.V, a wholly-owned arm of Serum Institute of India, to strengthen production and supply security of oral polio vaccines. An agreement has been signed between the two partners under which Bharat Biotech will procure drug substances for the production of oral polio vaccines (OPVs) to be supplied within India and globally, the company said in a statement. Through this collaboration, Bharat Biotech and Bilthoven Biologicals (BBio) will jointly obtain regulatory approvals and licences required to commercially manufacture OPVs in India for global supplies from drug substances manufactured in the Netherlands at BBio, it added. "This collaboration...exemplifies cooperation between vaccine companies, ensuring a secure supply of oral polio vaccines and fortifies the nation's mission to eradicate polio," Bharat Biotech Executive Chairman Krishna Ella said. Serum Institute of India CEO Adar ...