ISLAMABAD: Seven cases of the vaccine-derived type 2 poliovirus were detected, a type of paralyzing disease for which vaccination was suspended in Pakistan in 2014, in the northern areas of the country in recent months, has been officially confirmed.
The sources said that the officials involved had been reluctant for some time to admit that there was some case of poliovirus derived from the type 2 vaccine in the country.
“It is not a wild poliovirus outbreak. It is an outbreak of Sabin-Like Type 2 Derived (SLT2D). Similar outbreaks have been reported recently in the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and several other African countries that have completely eradicated the poliovirus, "said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza. Dawn.
There are three serotypes of wild poliovirus type 1, type 2 and type 3, each with a slightly different capsid protein.
Pakistan has been administering type 1 and type 3 viruses in oral polio vaccines (OPV), but stopped administering the type 2 vaccine in 2014 and the virus could not be found even in environmental samples since 2016.
An environmental sample is declared positive if virus is found in wastewater.
"However, cases of different areas have suddenly been reported, which means that a vial was left in some laboratory or elsewhere and began to spread due to human error. Right after receiving the cases, they cannot be included In the amount of wild polio virus, we sent samples to the laboratory of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, and after obtaining confirmation, that the children were paralyzed due to Type 2 virus polio, we have started polio campaigns, "said Dr. Mirza.
He said the virus had caused seven cases of paralysis in recent months, mainly in the northern parts of the country. Polio outbreaks occur where a large number of children were immunized below, he added.
“The only way to reduce the risks of increased transmission is to address the gaps in immunization coverage. The polio program is working on a comprehensive response to the outbreak that includes vaccination rounds in the area to protect all children under five. The program has also improved its surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis by actively seeking additional cases, increasing evidence of case contacts and strengthening environmental surveillance, ”he said.
He said that through the Expanded Program on Immunization Program (EPI), children in Pakistan receive routine immunization against 10 vaccine-preventable diseases (childhood tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, hemophilic influenzae type b, pneumonia, diarrhea and measles). ) Through the service, pregnant women also get vaccinated against tetanus.
The secretary of the Ministry of National Health Services, Dr. Allah Bakash Malik, told Dawn that Dr. Mirza had directly accepted the challenge and that the entire ministry team was supporting him.
Published on Dawn, November 8, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1515576/seven-cases-of-extinct-poliovirus-detected