KABUL (SW) – The World Health Organization (WHO), in a report, has stated that since the beginning of 2024, at least 23 new positive cases of polio have been registered in Afghanistan.
In its weekly report, the organization added that in the past 11 months, some 71 cases of polio have been recorded in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
However, Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate, in a written message to Salam Watandar, said that no positive cases of polio have been registered in Afghanistan this year so far.
Some doctors consider the polio virus dangerous, saying that children infected with this disease have no treatment.
Hashim Wahaj, a doctor, stated: “Polio is one of the most dangerous diseases for which humanity has not yet found a cure or treatment. A child who gets polio becomes paralyzed; their hands and legs become paralyzed and they cannot move. This paralysis is permanent, and the child remains disabled for life.”
Other doctors also mention that due to internal migration, the return of migrants from Pakistan, contaminated environments, and the lack of awareness among the public about the benefits of the polio vaccine, the possibility of children contracting this virus has increased.
Gul Mohammaduddin Mohammadi, another doctor, said: “The majority of the environment is contaminated. Additionally, the failure to vaccinate children, migration from neighboring countries, internal migration from one province to another, or districts where no vaccination is available, contribute to the spread. Vaccination, which was previously carried out door-to-door, is now conducted mosque-to-mosque or village-to-village, meaning some children are not vaccinated.”
It is worth noting that Afghanistan and Pakistan are the two countries in the world where polio has not been completely eradicated.
