Alarm in Pakistan as first polio case reported in capital in 16 years

A case of poliovirus has been reported from the federal capital after 16 years, taking the tally of cases reported this year to 17, officials have confirmed.

Other than the confirmed wild poliovirus (WPV1) cases—reported from all four provinces—the virus has been detected in environmental samples collected from 64 districts, indicating its presence in those areas.

The fresh case has been reported from Islamabad’s Union Council Rural 4, located near the Sangjani Toll Plaza, according to the Regional Reference Lab­oratory for Polio at the Nat­ional Institute of Health.

The victim, an eight-year-old boy, is the city’s first case since 2008.

According to the Pakistani English-language newspaper Dawn, a senior lab official said environmental samples from the federal capital and Rawalpindi district have tested positive for the presence of WPV1 since June, underscoring the “persistent threat of polio to children’s well-being”.

The prime minister’s focal person for polio eradication, Ayesha Raza Far­ooq, called the case “incr­edibly heartbreaking”.

She said that the polio programme has held “in-depth consultative sessions with the provinces and districts” to improve polio eradication efforts because of the virus outbreak.

Muhammad Anwarul Haq, the coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, said the government is “ramping up efforts” to reach every child with polio vaccines, including in Islamabad.

The government has planned another large-scale vaccination campaign in 115 districts from 9th to 13th September.

According to Ms Farooq, the teams will go house-to-house in 115 districts to vaccinate over 33 million children under five.

The campaign will also cover all 36 districts of Balochistan, which has reported 12 polio cases since February.