Pakistan reports 4 additional polio cases, Battling anti-vaccination propaganda on social media

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

Pakistan reported an additional four wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases during the past week. Three cases were reported from Lakki Marwat district and one from Torghar district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

This brings the total cases to 66 in 2019 to date. This compares to seven this time last year and 12 cases for all of 2018.

Anti-vaccine propaganda has been an issue in Pakistan. During a National Immunization Days (NID) campaign in Peshawar for example, a rumor that the polio vaccine would make children unwell, led to more than 37 000 children rushed to hospital in one day, a basic health unit set on fire, and indirectly the death of several vaccinators and security staff.

This has prompted The Global Polio Eradication Initiative and the Pakistan Polio Programme to seek out innovative ways to help quickly detect, control and/or respond to the spread of anti-vaccination propaganda on social media in an urban population.

For more information on how to join this collective effort please click here.

There were also several circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) reported in a number of countries: Nigeria— one circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2)- positive case; Angola— four cVDPV2 cases; Myanmar— two cVDPV1 cases.

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