Fakhar Alam
PESHAWAR, Oct 21 (APP):Being pushed on a wheelchair by his father, Abid Khan used to visit playground near his home on a daily basis to watch children playing different games to get amused but he could not play by himself as he fell prey to polio virus in his childhood and paralyzed for life.
Whenever football or cricket balls come close to the wheelchair of Abid, a resident of village Dheri Ishaq in Nowshera district, he unintentionally tries to catch it but sometimes falls from in this effort and his father support him to settle down again in his chair.
Sadden for his son, Abid’s father Jamsheed Khan said that he feels so sorry for his 30-year-old son because he could not play like a normal child and always looks for others’ support. “Polio virus affected my son at age of three-year, when he took him to doctor due to high fever, vomiting and constant pain where he was diagnosed with polio, he recalled.
“The doctor said Abid could not walk for entire life as both of his legs were affected by polio virus,” the sadden father said, adding he had been practicing to bring his son to the playground for the last 25 years on his request by leaving work in fields ahead of time.
Like Abid, polio virus continued attacking the under five years children in the country where 20 kids were paralyzed this year for entire life. According to Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), KP Health Department, all these 20 positive cases were detected in KP’s southern districts including 17 in North Waziristan, two in Lakki Marwat and one in South Waziristan.
As many as 139 cases were reported during 2011 in Pakistan including 23 from KP, 33 from Sindh, 73 from Balochistan, one in Giligt Baltistan (GB) and nine in Punjab. In 2012, polio cases were slashed to 38 including 27 in KP, four each in Sindh and Balochistan, one from GB, and two from Islamabad. Further reduction in cases had been witnessed during 2013 with 28 cases in Pakistan including 11 from KP, 10 from Sindh and seven from Punjab.
The country had witnessed a sharp increase in polio cases in 2014 after deduction of 127 cases including 68 from KP, 30 from Sindh, 22 from Balochistan and seven from Punjab. In 2015, a total of 38 cases were detected in the country including 17 in KP, 12 in Sindh, seven in Balochistan and only two from Punjab.
As many as 18 cases reported including eight each from KP and Sindh and two from Balochsitan in 2016. One case was detected in KP, two in Sindh, three in Balochistan and one each from GB and Punjab during 2017. Likewise, two cases detected in KP, one in Sindh and three in Balochistan during 2018.
However, significant increase in polio cases were witnessed in the country with record 134 cases including 80 in KP, 30 in Sindh, 12 each in Balochistan and Punjab during 2019. As many as 82 cases reported in Pakistan including 20 in KP, 22 in Sindh, 26 in Balochistan and 14 in Punjab in 2020.
Once in spotlight in world for being a country of polio virus reservoir following reports of about 20,000 cases per year in early 1990, there was a great hope that Pakistan was going to be declared a polio free country after a report of one case from Balochistan on January 27, 2021.
However, the report of 20 cases this year from KP had showed that wild polio virus (WPV-I) was still circulating in Lakki Marwat and Waziristan districts and its eradication was imperative to save children from permanent disabilities.
Senior children specialist, Government Satellite Hospital Pabbi Nowshera, Dr Riaz Khan said polio was highly contagious disease that mostly invades the nervous system of malnutrition children and spreads through feco-oral route.
Talking to APP, he said one in 200 infections leads to permanent paralysis and its victim even can’t move parts of his body and even caused death. He said over 100 million children were immunized every year before their first birthday and about 24 million under one-year age i.e. 20 percent were deprived of vaccine due to various reasons including refusal.
Terming anti-polio vaccine is safe option, he said the vaccines prevent two to three million deaths every year and can save additional two million children subject to improvement of global coverage.
“The oral polio vaccine (OPV) and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) are weakening and killing poliovirus as the former saved over five million children from permanent paralysis,” he said.
He said WPV-I was still circulating and hitting the unvaccinated children including Pakistan and Afghanistan, adding WPV-II and III types were eradicated in 1999, and that the last case of type-III was reported in 2012.
After report of 350,000 polio cases from 125 endemic countries in 1998, he said the World Health Assembly met and expressed strong resolve to eradicate polio from the globe and today the entire world except Pakistan and Afghanistan were declared polio-free.
“The main reason behind report of polio cases in Waziristan and Lakki Marwat districts was refusal of vaccination by parents, misconception and high rate of illiteracy,” said deputy coordinator EOC KP, Zeeshan Khan while talking to the news agency.
He said an inclusive mechanism was put in place for monitoring of vaccinators through incharges at union, tehsil and district councils besides provincial and national levels. The jirga comprising notables, religious scholars, doctors, EPI officials and district administration are being arranged from time to time to remove misconception regarding polio vaccination.
He said eradication of WPV-I was still a big challenge due to situation in Afghanistan and efforts were underway to stop transmission of WPV-I in the pandemic region including its reservoirs.
Zeeshan said an inclusive mechanism was put in place for all-aged vaccination at Pak-Afghan borders including Arround Chitral, Kharlachi Kurram, Angor Adda South Waziristan, Ghulam Khan North Waziristan and Torkhum in Khyber.
He said a national vaccination campaign was being planned in November this year also in 27 districts of KP including vulnerable Lakki Marwat, South Waziristan, and North Waziristan.
Zeeshan said the cooperation of religious scholars, media, politicians, LG representatives and tribal elders were imperative to tackle the challenge of refusal cases.