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. 2024 Sep 12;73(36):788-792.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7336a2.

Progress Toward Poliomyelitis Eradication - Pakistan, January 2023-June 2024

Chukwuma Mbaeyi, Anwaar Ul Haq, Rana Muhammad Safdar, Zainul Khan, Melissa Corkum, Elizabeth Henderson, Zubair M Wadood, Muhammad Masroor Alam, Richard Franka

Progress Toward Poliomyelitis Eradication - Pakistan, January 2023-June 2024

Chukwuma Mbaeyi et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .

Abstract

Since its launch in 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has made substantial progress toward the eradication of wild poliovirus (WPV), including eradicating two of the three serotypes, and reducing the countries with ongoing endemic transmission of WPV type 1 (WPV1) to just Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both countries are considered a single epidemiologic block. Despite the occurrence of only a single confirmed WPV1 case during the first half of 2023, Pakistan experienced widespread circulation of WPV1 over the subsequent 12 months, specifically in the historical reservoirs of the cities of Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta. As of June 30, 2024, eight WPV1 cases had been reported in Pakistan in 2024, compared with six reported during all of 2023. These cases, along with more than 300 WPV1-positive environmental surveillance (sewage) samples reported during 2023-2024, indicate that Pakistan is not on track to interrupt WPV1 transmission. The country's complex sociopolitical and security environment continues to pose formidable challenges to poliovirus elimination. To interrupt WPV1 transmission, sustained political commitment to polio eradication, including increased accountability at all levels, would be vital for the polio program. Efforts to systematically track and vaccinate children who are continually missed during polio vaccination activities should be enhanced by better addressing operational issues and the underlying reasons for community resistance to vaccination and vaccine hesitancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Reported cases of wild poliovirus type 1 and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, by month — Pakistan, January 2019–June 2024 Abbreviations: cVDPV2 = circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2; WPV1 = wild poliovirus type 1.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Location of wild poliovirus type 1 cases, by province and period — Pakistan, January 2023–June 2024 Abbreviation: WPV1 = wild polio virus type 1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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