Almost 95% of patients infected by polio do not experience any initial onset symptoms which makes the disease very hard to detect in the earlier stages
When the patient does exhibit symptoms, it is usually in the form of fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, and stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs
Such signs can be easily mistaken as symptoms of the common cold or other rudimentary afflictions, making polio even harder to diagnose in a timely manner
Once polio cases are detected, treatment can only be given to patients to alleviate the symptoms, not cure them
Heat and physical therapy is used to stimulate the muscles and antispasmodic drugs are given to relax the muscles
While this can improve mobility, it cannot reverse permanent polio paralysis
The Government of Pakistan, with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) and other key partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), has made long strides towards the global goal of eradicating polio in the recent years
A robust vaccination campaign, strong monitoring and the unflinching resolve of the health workers tasked with this gargantuan task should ideally have rid us of this menace by now
Unfortunately, Pakistan remains one of three countries in the world along with Afghanistan and Nigeria with active polio transmission and only one of two countries with wild polio transmission
The official number of reported polio cases in 2017 and in 2018 were eight and 12 respectively
As a result, the prospects of eradicating polio in the country in the coming years were promising
However, in 2019, a total of 134 cases were reported from all across the country signifying that this problem was far from over
Pakistan is currently grappling with an increased number of cases of wild polio virus WPV Type 1 as well as a cVDPV2 outbreak as confirmed by WHO in 2019
WPV type 1 polio virus is a naturally occurring strain found in the environment while the second variant of the disease is vaccine-derived polio type 2 (cVDPV2)
It is caused by a mutated form of the excreted virus contained within the oral polio vaccine (OPV)
An OPV contains a weakened vaccine virus which allows antibodies to prepare for a stronger strain of the virus if push comes to shove
When a child is immunised, the weakened virus replicates in the intestine for a limited time
Then, it is excreted in faeces and eventually dies out
On rare occasions, if the population is not adequately immunised, the virus starts circulating amongst members of the community for an extended time when it gradually undergoes genetic changes
This mutated form of virus can cause paralysis
CVDPV2 is not related to, nor indicative of a re-emergence of wild polio virus, but still poses a significant challenge as Pakistan looks to eradicate polio
According to the Polio Global Eradication Initiative’s (PGEI) official statistics, the number of cases of WPV polio in 2019 is 134, with 91 of them coming from KP
Thankfully, the number of cases of cVDPV2 is only 12
The recent surge in cases of WPV Type 1 polio in 2019 can be attributed to misinformation and a sham video that was circulating on social media, claiming that polio drops had poisoned children which had resulted in their death
While this video eventually proved to be false, the damage had already been done
Certain parents went as far as marking the fingers of their children in an attempt to hoodwink polio workers and prevent their children from receiving the drops
The WHO, based on an analysis of multiple environmental samples taken from the country, has painted a gloomy picture for 2020
Polio will most likely remain a problem for Pakistan during the year, because of which the WHO has extended travel restrictions in Pakistan for three more months
As mentioned previously, the solution lies only in prevention through an oral polio vaccine
The vaccine eliminates the risk of developing polio in the general population and also, helps prevent cases of cVDPV2 caused by lingering mutant strains of polio virus in the environment
Improved sanitation and living conditions can eliminate the risk of cVDPV2 as well while frequent environmental sampling to detect this variant of the disease can help in early estimates of transmission and potential outbreaks
Moreover, strengthening polio surveillance systems and ensuring high vaccination coverage can help tackle both problems of emergence of WPV type 1 and control of cVDPV2
Finally, mass awareness campaigns which engage with the religious factions of society will certainly help dispel misinformation and can go a long way in changing the attitudes of communities towards vaccination
Admittedly, Pakistan faces an uphill battle in the fight against the polio, but the task at hand is by no means insurmountable
Date: | 11-Jan-2020 | Reference: | View Original Link |
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