Two more polio case reported in Pakistan, toll reaches 74

Two more polio cases have been reported in Bannu and North Waziristan.

According to National Health Centre, 18-month-old Haleema and 22-month-old Madina are the latest case of polio whereas toll of polio affected children has reached 74 in the country. Experts say that polio eradication is impossible in Pakistan without parents’ support. Parents must cooperate with the health workers to make the country polio-free.

Last Monday, Pakistan s failure to stem the spread of polio triggered global emergency health measures, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending all residents must show proof of vaccination before they can leave the country. The emergency measures were also applied to Syria and Cameroon, which along with Pakistan are seen as posing the greatest risk of exporting the crippling virus and undermining a U.N. plan to eradicate it by 2018. Pakistan is in the spotlight as the only country with endemic polio that saw cases rise last year. Its caseload rose to 93 from 58 in 2012, accounting for more than a fifth of the 417 cases globally in 2013.

Polio passes easily from person to person and can spread rapidly among children, especially in the kind of unsanitary conditions endured by displaced people in war-torn regions, refugee camps and areas where health care is limited. The virus invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours. The WHO has repeatedly warned that as long as any single child remains infected with polio, children everywhere are at risk. There is no cure for the disease but it can be prevented by immunization. The polio vaccine, administered multiple times, can protect a child for life.