Polio cases down by fifty percent

The number of polio cases in Pakistan has dropped by more than fifty percent - with only 23 new cases having been reported so far in 2004, compared with 50 cases reported over the same period last year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). "It [polio] is limited to just a few areas now and we hope within next six to eight months, it [Pakistan] will be polio-free," Dr Anthony Mounts, the WHO medical officer for polio eradication, told IRIN in the capital, Islamabad on Thursday. Polio vaccination campaigns were initiated in the South Asian nation ten years ago, they later turned into a house-to-house immunisation programme in 1999. "We are doing quite a bit better than the previous years and if we could stop polio-transmission in this high season till October-November, then Pakistan would become nearer to achieving polio-free status," Jeffery Bats, polio communications officer at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) told IRIN. But there is still a long way to go before the country can be certified by WHO as polio free. Several conditions must be satisfied before a region can be certified polio free, including at least three years of zero confirmed cases. "We have succeeded in limiting the [polio] virus circulation through our mass immunisation campaigns over the past decade. Now a community-oriented approach with a more active role for parents could help in eradicating the disease from the country," Dr Rehan Hafeez, the national programme manager for the Enhanced Programme of Immunisation (EPI) at the National Institute of Health (NIH) told IRIN. Pakistan has some 31 million under-fives, including Afghan refugees, out of which almost 94 percent have been immunised during campaigns, according to the health official. "Six percent of the total targeted number of children are missed due to various social, cultural and religious factors," Hafeez said. Local health departments, working with UN agencies, have been trying to improve immunisation coverage. Currently, there are four national immunisation rounds over 12 months, along with another four sub-national rounds in high risk areas across the country. In addition, special vaccination centres have been set up in Afghan refugee camps and at border crossings to ensure that as many children as possible are immunised. "We have two strategic concerns. Immunisation is going on all over the country, but we have 20 high risk districts where more intensified campaigns are needed," Bats said. "The new cases of polio are taking place in some pockets of northern Sindh, isolated areas in North West Frontier Province and some parts of Punjab," the UNICEF official said, adding that no case has been reported from the province of Balochistan since last October. Pakistan is one of six remaining polio endemic countries along with India, Afghanistan, Egypt, Nigeria and Niger. In a global scenario, more polio cases are now coming from Central Africa. "While in this region Afghanistan, India and Pakistan are almost on the same track for eradication of polio as transmission has been limited," Mounts noted. Citing several independent studies, Hafeez said that polio awareness amongst ordinary people was as high as 98 percent. Health officials told IRIN that religious clerics and celebrities had been approached to join hands in eliminating the disease, which causes severe and permanent disability. However, Hafeez stressed, "A greater responsibility lies with the parents - they should ensure that their children are being immunised properly so that they can stay healthy."