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Pakistan

Status: endemic

In Pakistan, persistent wild poliovirus transmission is restricted to three groups of districts: (1) Karachi city, (2) a group of districts in Balochistan Province, and (3) districts in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In addition, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan repeatedly re-infect one other, due to the substantial population movements within and between the countries.

Financial resource requirements (2013-2015) for Pakistan.

Polio this week in Pakistan

No new WPV cases were reported in the past week. The total number of WPV cases for 2013 remains eight. The most recent WPV case had onset of paralysis on 24 April (WPV1 from Federally Administered Tribal Areas – FATA).
One new cVDPV2 case was reported in the past week (from North Waziristan, FATA), bringing the total number of cVDPV2 cases for 2013 to four. It is the most recent cVDPV2 case in the country and had onset of paralysis on 22 April.
It is the second cVDPV2 case from North Waziristan, an area where immunizations have been suspended by local leaders since last June. To minimize the risk of a major outbreak in this area, it is critical that access to children is granted as quickly as possible. Immunizations in neighbouring high-risk areas are being intensified, to further boost population immunity levels in those areas and prevent further spread of this outbreak.
The cVDPV2 cases in North Waziristan are linked to the ongoing outbreak previously restricted to Balochistan and parts of Karachi, resulting in 20 cases in Pakistan since August. In 2012, this strain had also spread into Afghanistan, causing 12 cases there since August.
Pakistan is also affected by transmission of WPV1, with eight cases this year (compared to 16 cases for the same period in 2012). Wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) has not been detected in the country in more than 12 months (since April 2012, from Khyber Agency, FATA).
Confirmation of these latest cases underscores the risk which ongoing polio transmission (be it due to WPV or cVDPV) in the country continues to pose to children everywhere, and in particular to children living in areas where access has not been possible for extended periods of time.
The security situation continues to be monitored closely, in consultation with law enforcement agencies. Immunization activities continue to be implemented, in some areas staggered or postponed, depending on the security situation at the local level.