Gilgit Baltistan reports first polio case in seven years

GILGIT: The first case of polio has surfaced in Gilgit-Baltistan after seven years, health officials confirmed on Sunday, as Pakistan still grapples with the question: how to eradicate the crippling virus.

Health Secretary Asifullah told HUM News that the authorities had confirmed the polio case in a two-year-old child in the Tangir area.

However, they are waiting for results from the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad.

 “Samples have been sent to NIH Islamabad for further confirmation. You can say 60 to 70 per cent the case is confirmed,” he said, adding that it would be the first case in the region after seven years.

The health secretary said the NIH was taking time because the child was walking without any help and trembling. Initial vaccinations of the child were missing but later the polio drops had been administered properly, he noted.

Asifullah said the poliovirus had links to Karachi.

It means the poliovirus may have travelled from Karachi through an infected person and transmitted here to others.

Pakistan has been unable to eradicate polio, which means it is listed, unfortunately, along with Afghanistan – the two countries that are still a source of the virus.

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There are many factors, but the single most important, if not the sole reason, is extremism that makes polio vaccination an “un-Islamic” experiment, despite the fact that the government has employed religious scholars to debunk the myth.

Hence, administering polio drops is a dangerous venture for health workers in many parts of Pakistan.

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That’s why we see regular attacks on polio teams and the security personnel accompanying them.

Tanveer Abbas