In the past 24 hours, Balochistan has recorded its second polio case of the year.
The Balochistan Post learned from reliable sources that a young child has been diagnosed with wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1), in the Chaman district of Balochistan. This follows a recent diagnosis of poliovirus in a toddler from Balochistan’s Dera Bugti district.
It should be noted that both poliovirus cases have been reported in Balochistan after a period of three years.
Poliomyelitis, shortened as polio, is an infectious disease that usually spreads from one person to another. It affects the spinal cord or the brain stem, which leads to paralysis in the victims.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio cases are being reported. Poliomyelitis is preventable by the poliovirus vaccine. Vaccination against polio and other diseases is rare in Balochistan due to a variety of factors, such as a broken healthcare system, the reluctance of some parents to vaccinate their children due to unscientific reasons, outdated religious narratives against vaccination, and the threats to the lives of polio workers.
Baloch nationalists blame the Pakistani state for the weakest healthcare and education system. They also claim that Balochistan is an ‘occupied’ region where an insurgency has been going on since the ‘occupation’ and as a counter-insurgency policy, the state is strengthening the religious outfits in the region.