Pakistan And Afghanistan Are The Only Countries Where Polio Remains An Endemic, Says WHO

The year 2024 came with 39 polio cases in Pakistan and two fresh ones on October 20 itself in the Sindh province. A day earlier, four cases were also reported. As per the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication in Islamabad, the newest victims are a girl and a boy.

Out of the 39 cases, 20 were from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, 5 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. While Prime Minister's Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq acknowledged the rising cases of polio, he also noted that by June 2025, the cases will be eradicated.

As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), the only two countries where polio remains endemic are Pakistan and Afghanistan.

What Is Polio?

It is an illness caused by a virus that affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem. It can lead to a person being unable to move certain limbs, which can also lead to paralysis. Furthermore, it can also cause trouble breathing, and lead to death.

The polio virus is a naturally occurring virus that has been around since prehistoric times, as per the WHO. This disease can be found in humans and is spread through the faecal-oral route, which means it is transmitted when someone ingests food or water contaminated by human faeces.

Poliovirus is a small, single-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the Enterovirus subgroup of the Picornaviridae family and was first recognised as a distinct condition by English physician Michael Underwood in 1789. The virus was identified in 1909 by Austrian immunologist Karl Landsteiner.

About 5% of people with poliovirus get a mild version of the disease called abortive poliomyelitis. It has flu-like symptoms and can last for 2 to 3 days. The symptoms include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle Aches
• Sore Throat
• Stomachache
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting

A more severe form is the nonparalytic polio, affecting 1% of those infected which may have the symptoms such as:

• Neck pain or stiffness
• Aches or stiffness in arms or legs
• Severe headache

The most serious form is paralytic polio, while the symptoms start with those of nonparalytic polio and can progress to more severe signs including:

• Intense pain
• Extreme sensitivity to touch
• Tingling or pricking sensations
• Muscles spasms or twitching
• Muscle weakness progressing to a limp paralysis

Situation in Pakistan And Afghanistan

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where the wild poliovirus is still endemic as 100%, out of which 67.5% cases were from Pakistan and 35.5% were from Afghanistan.