Not medical advice. This site is general information only. In an emergency call your local emergency number. For advice about your own health, speak to a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified health professional.
Polio Pakistan
About Polio Pakistan
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where wild poliovirus remains endemic. Pakistan reported 1 case in 2021, 20 in 2022, and 6 in 2023. In 2024, cases surged again, with 74 reported for the year. The challenges in Pakistan include insecurity, with polio workers killed by militants, particularly in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Militant bans on polio vaccination in parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, including one imposed in 2012 in the tribal areas, left large under vaccinated populations. Cross border movement between Pakistan and Afghanistan facilitates virus transmission. Pakistan deploys hundreds of thousands of vaccinators in national campaigns. Environmental surveillance detects poliovirus in sewage. Multiple national immunization campaigns are conducted annually. The GPEI has spent tens of billions of dollars since 1988. India recorded its last wild polio case in 2011. Africa was declared wild polio free in 2020. The remaining challenge in Pakistan and Afghanistan is primarily political and security related rather than scientific. Eradication would make polio the second human disease after smallpox to be eradicated.
Related Entries
1918 Spanish Flu
The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus and infected approximately 500 million people wor...
HIV AIDS Pandemic
HIV AIDS was first recognized in 1981 when the CDC reported unusual pneumocystis pneumonia clusters in young gay men in ...
COVID 19 Pandemic
COVID 19 was caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The WHO declared a pand...
Asian Flu 1957
The Asian Flu pandemic of 1957 to 1958 was caused by the H2N2 influenza A virus. The first cases were reported in Guizho...