Pakistan: 2010 polio cases - November 5, 2010

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/...100305803.html

Pakistan reports first polio case of 2010
January 18th, 2010 - 7:46 pm ICT by IANS Tell a Friend -

Islamabad, Jan 18 (IANS) The dream of a polio-free Pakistan could not be converted into reality as the country?s first case of the disease was confirmed Monday in a nine-month-old child.

The National Institute of Health confirmed the polio virus in a child identified as Bushra, a resident of Bara district in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Pakistan had confirmed 117 cases in 2009.

The health ministry had set a target of a polio-free Pakistan by 2010 but this is now not achievable, Online news agency reported.

The ministry has spent billion of rupees on the polio eradication campaign since 1994 but Pakistan is among four countries of the world where the crippling disease still exists.

India, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the other countries where the disease is prevalent.

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

Source: http://7thspace.com/headlines/334400...qas_study.html

Are we doing enough? Evaluation of the Polio Eradication Initiative in a district of Pakistan's Punjab province: a LQAS study


The success of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was remarkable, but four countries - Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nigeria - never interrupted polio transmission. Pakistan reportedly achieved all milestones except interrupting virus transmission.

The aim of the study was to establish valid and reliable estimate for: routine oral polio vaccine (OPV) coverage, logistics management and the quality of monitoring systems in health facilities, NIDs OPV coverage, the quality of NIDs service delivery in static centers and mobile teams, and to ultimately provide scientific evidence for tailoring future interventions.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using lot quality assessment sampling was conducted in the District Nankana Sahib of Pakistan's Punjab province. Twenty primary health centers and their catchment areas were selected randomly as 'lots'.

The study involved the evaluation of 1080 children aged 12-23 months for routine OPV coverage, 20 health centers for logistics management and quality of monitoring systems, 420 households for NIDs OPV coverage, 20 static centers and 20 mobile teams for quality of NIDs service delivery. Study instruments were designed according to WHO guidelines.

Results: Five out of twenty lots were rejected for unacceptably low routine immunization coverage.

The validity of coverage was questionable to extent that all lots were rejected. Among the 54.1% who were able to present immunization cards, only 74.0% had valid immunization.

Routine coverage was significantly associated with card availability and socioeconomic factors. The main reasons for routine immunization failure were absence of a vaccinator and unawareness of need for immunization.

Health workers (96.9%) were a major source of information. All of the 20 lots were rejected for poor compliance in logistics management and quality of monitoring systems.

Mean compliance score and compliance percentage for logistics management were 5.4 +/- 2.0 (scale 0-9) and 59.4% while those for quality of monitoring systems were 3.3 +/- 1.2 (scale 0-6) and 54.2%. The 15 out of 20 lots were rejected for unacceptably low NIDs coverage by finger-mark.

All of the 20 lots were rejected for poor NIDs service delivery (mean compliance score = 11.7 +/- 2.1 [scale 0-16]; compliance percentage = 72.8%).

Conclusion: Low coverage, both routine and during NIDs, and poor quality of logistics management, monitoring systems and NIDs service delivery were highlighted as major constraints in polio eradication and these should be considered in prioritizing future strategies.

Author: Muhammad Umair MushtaqMuhammad Ashraf MajroohMohsin Zia Sana UllahJaved AkramArif Mahmood SiddiquiMushtaq Ahmad ShadMuhammad WaqasHussain Muhammad AbdullahWaqar AhmadUbeera ShahidUsman Khurshid
Credits/Source: BMC Public Health 2010, 10:60

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

Source: http://dailymailnews.com/0210/12/Cit...CityPages9.php

Lack of accountability key issue in anti-polio campaign
By Bushra Makhdoom

Islamabad?Pakistan needs to enforce greater accountability in order to obtain better results from current efforts directed towards polio eradication, the director of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Dr. Bruce Aylward, communicated at a meeting of the Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee on Polio here on Thursday.
The meeting, which was called to take stock of the polio situation in Pakistan and to endorse strategies for 2010 to hit the virus hard in low-performing areas, was presided over by Minister for Health Makhdoom Shahabuddin. The health ministers of Sindh, NWFP and AJK, and health secretaries of all the four provinces attended the meeting, along side global and national experts on polio.
Dr. Bruce Aylward hoped that the introduction of the new bivalent polio vaccine this year would play a major role in polio eradication. He urged all parties in security-compromised areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan should be engaged in the fight. ??The Taliban now support polio immunisation in parts of Afghanistan, he remarked before moving on to share how the adoption of new approaches in poorly performing countries like Nigeria have started showing results. ?The impact of involvement of sub-national and local leaders during the past year is beginning to show,? he said. Dr. Aylward said the major milestones for polio are interruption of all new importations of the virus by mid-2010 and interruption of all re-established viruses by the end of 2010.
Dr. Aylward urged Pakistan to enhance accountability. At this, Shahabuddin suggested that the EDOs Health, who are responsible for implementation at the district level, should be held accountable. ?We need to urge and motivate the EDOs to deliver on polio eradication,? he remarked. The key remaining challenges in polio eradication include lack of access to some parts of the country and coming to grips with management and service delivery issues in areas that are accessible.
Secretary Health Khushnood Lashari recommended that a mechanism be established to track implementation of plans under the leadership of the provincial chief secretaries and DCOs at the district level.
Briefing the meeting on Pakistan?s polio situation, the manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation Dr. Altaf Bosan said the government?s commitment to polio eradication must now be directed towards addressing issues like lack of accountability at the implementation level. He emphasised the need for formulating district-specific plans tailored to local needs, culture and ground realities, particularly for areas marked by unrest or accessibility issues.

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=226681

?Karachi the only mega-city to still report polio cases?
Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Karachi

Karachi is presently the only mega-city in the world where polio cases persist despite availability of proper infrastructure and facilities.

The issue was extensively discussed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) representatives Dr Naveed Sadozai and Dr Yahya Ghaffar in a meeting with Sindh Health Minister, Dr Saghir Ahmed here on Monday.

Pakistan itself as well as other polio endemic countries as India, Nigeria and Afghanistan was noticed to be reporting cases from their remote and less developed areas. WHO officials acknowledged that vulnerability of Karachi that reported five confirmed polio cases last year (2009) and one in 2010 is due to massive influx of population to the metropolis.

Sindh health minister urged the WHO officials to support efforts being made by Pakistan and Sindh Governments respectively to contain spread of virus. He said that no single body could take the responsibility and all concerned stake holders had to develop a foolproof mechanism to eradicate the virus that crippled children.

He said that the international bodies working in remote and disturbed parts of the country must undertake the responsibility, in close coordination with the local administration and communities, to necessarily vaccinate all children, upto the age of five years, against polio.

The Sindh government, the minister said was also attempting to engage all stake holders including professional bodies of doctors, nurses etc as well as media and artistes, along with those having any influence on the communities to educate the masses and also to motivate them about relevance of oral anti-polio vaccines (OPV).

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also called upon the Sindh health minister and discussed the possibility of strengthening private-public sector cooperation in the field of health-care.

[Shiloh]

Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=235961

Karachi only mega-city with polio
Monday, April 26, 2010

Karachi

Karachi is the only ?mega-city? in the world with an ongoing circulation of the polio virus, according to an EPI Pakistan report. Only one case of polio was detected in Sindh in 2010 ? from Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, Karachi.

The report said that lack of accountability was leading to persistent performance gaps in a few key areas of routine immunisation and polio campaigns. One of the outcomes of the performance gaps was said to be the outbreak of measles in Karachi.

Karachi was polio-free for 18 months until the virus was reintroduced in the city in April 2006. Southern Sindh remained polio free for 21 months, demonstrating the possibility of stopping polio through uniformly-high quality vaccinations, the report said.

India and Nigeria, out of the four polio-endemic countries, meanwhile, have shown significant progress in the reduction of the number of cases, the report said. Pakistan and Afghanistan, on the other hand, have reported more cases in 2010 than in 2009.

The report added, however, that the involvement of the key political leadership to engage community leaders, especially in Karachi, has led to ?evident improvement?. The EPI considered Gadap, Gulshan and Baldia towns of Karachi and Jacobabad and Hyderabad as high-risk towns and districts.

Province City No. of polio cases

Sindh Karachi 01

Balochistan Quetta 03

Chaghai 01

FATA Bajour 03

Khyber Agency 01

North Waziristan 01

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Peshawar 02

Swat 01

13

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%" align=center><TBODY><TR bgColor=#f4faff><TD class=small_txt height=20>Polio virus P3 detected in a Pindi child</TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#efefef></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=small_txt></TD></TR><TR><TD class=small_txt vAlign=top>NIH yet to confirm the case

Monday, July 12, 2010
Muhammad Qasim

Rawalpindi

Polio virus P3 has been detected in a nine-and-a-half yeara old child Shahzeb Latif son of Muhammad Latif who is a resident of Village Bhall, Union Council Chauntra in Tehsil Rawalpindi.

The National Institute of Health, Islamabad, has not confirmed status of the victim as yet. ?The News? learnt through reliable sources that in the tests conducted at the NIH, the detection of polio virus P3 is confirmed positive in Shahzeb?s sample however he has not been confirmed positive as a case of polio as yet rather he is likely to be a victim of the disease.

According to details, Shahzeb caught up with fever on June 24 while on June 27 and June 28, samples of his stool were collected by the district health department. After suspected him a case of polio, the health department sent his stool samples to the NIH on June 29 for further examination. ?The News? however learnt that on Saturday evening, district health department was informed verbally of the viral detection (Polio virus P3) in Shahzeb?s samples after which District Health Officer Dr Khalid Randhawa himself examined Shahzeb and brought him to Professor of Paediatrics in Rawalpindi Dr Rai Asghar.

Dr Rai has written in his report that there is no evidence of paralysis in Shahzeb?s case, muscle power is normal and absolutely no evidence of neurological deficit therefore, Shahzeb is not a case of acute polio mylitis.

Dr Randhawa, when contacted by ?The News? Sunday, said that he sent Dr Rai?s report in case of Shahzeb to provincial Director General Health. ?My office proved its surveillance system highly effective as we detected the case even when he had not developed polio mylitis,? he said while responding to a query.

He added that Shahzeb was given three doses of anti-polio vaccine in routine while 17 doses under immunization programme in anti-polio drives when he was under the age of five. ?Polio virus entered his body but could not cause polio mylitis because he had been administered properly the doses of anti-polio vaccine,? he said. To a query, he, however, admitted that the existence of polio virus in the area of Chauntra has emerged as a challenge for his office. ?The virus might affect a child of the area who has not been administered properly anti-polio vaccine,? he said. Dr Randhawa added that his office has started working on from where the virus came to the area and how child population of the area could be prevented from it. ?Initial investigations revealed that Shahzeb stayed at an ?Urs? in UC Jhungal for three days from June 13 to June 15 where a huge number of pilgrims reached from scattered areas of the country and he might acquire virus there during his stay.?

He said that a team of district health department has already reached in the area of residence of Shahzeb on Sunday morning and has started administering anti-polio vaccine to child population in village Bhall and surrounding villages. ?From July 12 to 14, there would be three-day anti-polio drive in the district under National Immunization Day and we would try to cover 100 per cent child population in and around UC Chauntra which ultimately would get protection from the virus for a month,? said Dr Randhawa.

He added that polio virus if existing in the area, can not survive for a month if it is barred from attacking in the body. It is important that a total of 29 positive case of polio have been reported across Pakistan so far in 2010.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=250231

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

Monday, July 12, 2010

Anti-polio campaign starts today

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration have made elaborate arrangements for the three-day polio eradication campaign starting from today (Monday).

The authorities have divided urban area of city into 15 zones deputed 74 area in charges and 355 mobile teams comprising more than 700 volunteers. The rural area has been divided into 11 zones with 238 mobile teams to administer anti-polio drops to 95,231 children.

CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi has directed health services team to ensure that every child under five years of age be given administered polio drops. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C07%5C12%5Cstory_12-7-2010_pg11_7

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%" align=center><TBODY><TR bgColor=#f4faff><TD class=small_txt height=20>60,000 children administered anti-polio drops</TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#efefef></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=small_txt></TD></TR><TR><TD class=small_txt vAlign=top>Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Our correspondent

Islamabad

As many as 60,000 children were administered anti-polio drops in the rural areas of Islamabad during the last 2 days of the on-going drive against polio, a spokesman for the deputy commissioner?s office said.

He said that 60,000 children were administered anti-polio drops in the rural areas of Islamabad during the last 2 days of the on-going drive.

The mobile teams of District Health Department were going door-to-door in the far-flung rural areas for achieving maximum coverage against the polio.

Deputy Commissioner (Islamabad) Aamer Ali Ahmad reviewed the performance of on-going drive including mobile teams and directed the officials to ensure 100 per cent coverage against polio and cover all the far-flung areas without fail.

District Health Officer (Islamabad) Dr. Amirzada Khan said that he was conducting thorough visits of Bhara Kahu, Tarlai and other rural areas and personally reviewed the performance of mobile teams in the field.

Zonal supervisors and area incharges were directed to ensure that all the children up to five years of age in the rural areas are administered anti-polio drops.

Deputy commissioner Islamabad said that ICT administration is fully vigilant to the situation and using all available resources for ensuring 100 per cent coverage against polio and the health officials are fully vigilant to the situation. He directed the officials and mobile teams to ensure reaching all the areas and administering anti-polio drops to the children without missing any single child.

DHO ICT informed that catch up activity will also be carried out on July 15, to ensure that all areas had been covered and all children have been administered anti-polio drops.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=250612

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

PESHAWAR: Rating Town-I of Peshawar district as high risk zone for the spread of polio virus, the provincial health department decided to launch a vigorous campaign in the area to eradicate the crippling ailment.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with the Health Department and the district government initiated a sewerage water sampling survey in different towns of the city some three weeks ago to find out the causes of the spread of the poliovirus and to devise a strategy accordingly.

The survey team took water samples from all the towns of the district and sent them to the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad. ?We have received the reports according to which poliovirus was found in the sewerage water of different areas of Town-1 while the Town-II results were negative,? said Dr Abdul Gul, coordinator for Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Peshawar district.

He said the virus identified in the sewerage water was P1 poliovirus that did not exist in Peshawar, however, it does exist in the nearby Khyber Agency. ?The sewerage water from Khyber Agency comes down to Peshawar and we suspect that it can be the prime source of the infection,? he added.

He said the areas where sewerage water was found contaminated with poliovirus included Gulbahar, Shaheen Muslim Town, Akhunabad, Zargarabad and Wazirbagh. Reports of contaminated water have also been received from Hazarkhwani, Phando, Sorizai, Larama and Bazidkhel areas, he added.

When contacted, Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Peshawar Dr Waheed Burki said the department had already started anti-polio campaign in the high-risk areas.

He said they had divided Peshawar into viral and non-viral zones. ?We have increased the number of teams and further improved the surveillance and monitoring in the viral zone,? he said. He said the results of the sewerage water samples taken from different areas of Town II showed the signs of anti-polio vaccines, which were very encouraging and the proof of the active campaign in these areas.

He appealed to elders of the area, religious scholars and media to play due role in fight against polio. To a question, he said the four Town Municipal Officers were on board and the Health Department shared the results of the tests with them. In the current year three cases of poliovirus were reported in Peshawar and the health authorities believe that the sewerage water from Khyber Agency might have been the cause of the spread of the disease in the city.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=251075

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

PESHAWAR: World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed deep concern on rise in polio cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA.

Official sources in the health department said that out of 28 new reported polio cases in the country in 2010, 20 polio cases were reported in the KP and FATA. They said seven cases were reported in KP and 13 in FATA.

Ashna Gul Afridi, a 30-year old polio victim, expressed concern on the rise in polio cases in KP province and FATA.

Afridi, a poor young man, did not lose heart when polio paralysed him in the childhood and passed through odd times and continued his effort to live an honourable life in the society.

?It is very difficult for a polio victim to spend a normal life in the society. The parents should realize difficulties being faced to polio victim and administer polio drops every time to their children,? polio paralysed Ashna Gul, who was imparting tailoring training in the government-run-skilled centre told Daily Times on Sunday.

Afridi was infected with polio in the childhood due to non-availability of polio drops during his childhood at his area Bar Qambar Khel, Bara area in Khyber Agency.

Sources said that two cases of polio were recorded in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency this year despite the fact that there was no problem of accessibility as the vaccinators and other staff were locals.

On the other hand, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also expressed concern over the increasing number of polio cases in KP and FATA and asked the government to introduce accountability of the staff with a view to eradicate the disease.

The concern was expressed recently by a high-level WHO mission that called on provincial health secretary, additional chief secretary and director of health services FATA, sources in the health department said.

They said Dr Tahir Mir, regional advisor on polio eradication from Cairo, and Chris Mehir, member of the global team on polio eradication, visited the city to convey their concern to the government over ineffective polio control programme. akhtar amin

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010/07/19/story_19-7-2010_pg7_23

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Seven more polio cases detected in KP, Khyber


* FSMO says number of polio cases at 16 in agency during current year

By Akhtar Amin

PESHAWAR: Seven more polio cases have been detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Khyber Agency of the tribal belt, officials said.

Health officials told Daily Times on Tuesday that five new polio cases had been detected in Khyber Agency and two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Dr Mohammad Shafiq Afridi, field supervisor medical officer (FSMO), said that after detection of five new cases in Khyber Agency, the number of polio cases reached at 16 in the agency during the current year.

About the new cases, he said two were detected in Malwat Akakhel and one each in Shalobar, Teera, and Speen Qabar area in Bara Tehsil. With the new cases, number of polio cases reached at 13 only in Bara, where military operation was underway against militants.

Read more

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

Four new polio cases detected in the country


The latest victims of the dreaded disease — a boy and three girls of between 12 and 42 months — took this year’s tally of polio cases to 78.

Five of the cases have been reported from Punjab, eight from Sindh, 17 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, seven from Balochistan and 41 from Fata.

The national manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Dr Altaf A. Bosan, said the new cases were confirmed by the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, on Friday.

He added that new cases were largely being reported from districts that had compromised on the quality of immunisation work. The floods and the subsequent movement of people could also be cited as major reasons for the increase in the number of polio cases.

Officials told Dawn that the new cases were detected in Ghotki and Sukkur districts in Sindh, Mianwali district in Punjab, and Mohmand Agency in Fata.

more...

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/four-new-polio-cases-detected-000

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

Polio cases increase among children in Pakistan

19/10/2010

Close to 80 cases of the paralyzing polio virus have been reported in Pakistan, according to the United Nations children's agency UNICEF.

polio immunization in Pakistan


The cases have been detected in two provinces in the north of the country, which were affected by the recent floods.

UNICEF spokesman Marixie Mercado says UNICEF has been supporting immunization campaigns to protect children from the disease.

"There has been an increase in the number of reported of polio cases among children, at 78 cases as of 14 October, which is a 26 per cent increase over the 2009 figures. And this is despite the fact that UNICEF supported immunization campaigns have reached over 8.5 million children with a polio vaccine."

http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/104202.html

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Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

? 10/19/2010 12:25
PAKISTAN

Pakistan might be losing the battle against polio
by Jibran Khan

Islamabad (AsiaNews) ? Pakistan has recorded its 78th case of polio, the 12th in October, and the trend appears to be upward. Compared to last year, the figures are discouraging. In 2009, 89 cases were recorded, a number that will be certainly surpassed over the next few months.

?Pakistan may be losing the fight against polio?, said a senior official with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
...

In the recent past, hundreds of thousands of children have not been vaccinated in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), increasing the number of polio cases.

?It is very unfortunate that the leadership of the Pakistan polio programme has not made any serious efforts to engage the armed forces of the country to ensure accessibility to the areas,? an anonymous WHO official said.

... 57 of the 78 cases of polio were in fact recorded in FATA.

[...]

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Pakistan-might-be-losing-the-battle-against-polio-19757.html

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Pakistan: 2010 polio cases

PAKISTAN: Polio cases continue to climb

PESHAWAR, 3 November 2010 (IRIN) - As polio cases continue to rise in Pakistan, concern is growing among health experts that the battle against the virus may have run into serious trouble.

Pakistan reported only 28 cases of polio in 2005, but the figure climbed to 89 in 2009. So far this year 97 cases have been reported, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership led by national governments and spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies.

Insecurity has contributed to the spread of the virus. Margaret Chan, the director-general of WHO, said on 30 October that about half of the 97 polio cases reported in 2010 were from Pakistan?s northern tribal areas, where clashes between militants and the security forces ?restrict access to health care for many children?.

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