ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) has extended travel restrictions on Pakistan for an additional 90 days due to an ongoing spike in polio cases in the South Asian country.
As per details, the decision was taken in the WHO Emergency Committee’s 41st meeting held on March 6. The meeting was attended by representatives from polio-affected countries who participated via video link.
The world health body reviewed the spread of polio, as well as the situation in Pakistan and the government’s countermeasures to end the virus.
The committee’s findings state that Pakistan and Afghanistan, the only countries with a polio pandemic, continue to pose a threat to global polio eradication efforts.
Expressing satisfaction with Pakistan’s anti-polio initiative and quality anti-polio drive, the WHO stated that there is still room for improvement at the provincial and district levels.
Alarmingly, there has been a significant rise in polio-positive environmental samples in Pakistan, with a twelvefold increase in cases reported between 2023 and 2024.
This year alone, 628 polio-positive environmental samples have been reported across the country, with new districts also affected by the wild poliovirus. The provincial capitals-Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta- have become hotspots for the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1), which continues to spread in central areas of Pakistan and southern KP.
The WHO expressed deep concern over the spread of WPV1 in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, noting that globally, the virus is now largely confined to these two countries.
The body also raised questions about the immunisation standards in Pakistan, especially given the troubling spread of the virus during the low transmission season and the anticipated rise in cases during the high transmission period.
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The WHO has urged Pakistan to ensure effective campaigns in vulnerable areas and discourage cross-border transmission between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
