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Vaccination

Poliovirus Transmission Surges Across Pakistan-Afghan Border

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

As the sit-in against the One-Document border crossing regime at the Chaman border continues, Afghan nationals have increased their use of undocumented routes to enter Pakistan, leading to a concurrent surge in poliovirus transmission. With 15 confirmed cases of polio so far in 2024, the situation has raised alarm bells, prompting the government and UN agencies to reinvigorate their efforts to eradicate the virus.

The situation is further complicated by the ban on house-to-house vaccination in southern Afghanistan since 2018, which has compromised the campaign quality on the Afghanistan side. A YB3A cluster wild poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in Qandahar city of Afghanistan, which crossed into Chaman district of Pakistan after a gap of 28 months due to cross-border movement.

Key Takeaways:

  • The sit-in against the One-Document border crossing regime at the Chaman border has led to an increase in undocumented routes being used by Afghan nationals to enter Pakistan, resulting in a surge in poliovirus transmission.
  • The number of reported polio cases has increased to 15 so far in 2024, with 12 cases reported from seven districts of Balochistan, including Dera Bugti, Chaman, Qila Abdullah, Quetta, Jhal Magsi, Zhob, Qila Saifullah, and Mekran.
  • The increase in polio cases has been attributed to the unchecked cross-border movement and poor security, which lead to compromised campaign quality.
  • The government has vowed to use all available resources to eliminate polio from the country, with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif directing the anti-polio national team to ensure the availability of polio vaccines in security risk areas.
  • A two-day workshop was recently convened at Quetta to discuss the strategies for controlling the polio crisis, and a special anti-polio campaign is scheduled to be launched during September, October, and November.
  • UNICEF officials have expressed concern over frequent changes of deputy commissioners and DHOs, vaccine refusal, and poor quality of the routine immunization drive.
  • Community-based vaccination (CBV) is being practiced in the Quetta-block but not in Qila Abdullah, which has been identified as a reason for the spread of polio.

Statistics:

  • 15 cases of polio have been reported so far in 2024 in Balochistan, Sindh, and the Punjab provinces.
  • 12 cases have been reported from seven districts of Balochistan.
  • The number of districts with reported polio cases has increased to 58, up from eight last year.
  • Environmental positivity of polio cases has surged to 22 percent, up from 1 percent last year.
  • The number of environment samples isolations has increased 19 times, and the number of infected districts has increased seven times.
  • The YB3A cluster originating in Afghanistan has been identified as the cause of all infections.

Sources:

  • Emergency Operation Centre coordinator for Balochistan Inam-ul Haq
  • Prime Minister's Focal Person on Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq
  • Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind
  • UNICEF officials
  • Dr Hadi, Qila Abdullah DHO
  • Polio epidemiology 2023-2024 prepared by the polio wing of the National Health Service

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