Pakistan's polio tally rises to 10 in 2025 with 2 new cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Peshawar, May 21 (PTI): Pakistan's total confirmed polio cases for 2025 have increased to 10 following the detection of two new cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, health authorities said on Wednesday.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad confirmed the cases in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts.
Of the 10 cases reported this year, five are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Sindh, and one from Punjab.
Despite ongoing nationwide polio vaccination campaigns, certain areas, particularly in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, continue to face challenges such as restricted access and difficulties in conducting house-to-house vaccination efforts, officials said.
These operational hurdles have left thousands of children at risk of exposure to poliovirus due to missed vaccination opportunities, according to health authorities.
In some areas in Lakki Marwat, children missed vaccination during the February and April 2025 immunisation campaigns, resulting in immunity gaps.
Similarly, in UC Saintanga at Wazir tehsil in Bannu, no comprehensive vaccination campaign has been conducted since October 2023.
Additionally, a shortage of female vaccinators and gaps in monitoring have further widened immunity gaps in these regions, officials said.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP) is actively engaging with stakeholders to address these challenges and enhance the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns in high-risk areas.
An intensified vaccination schedule is being implemented to interrupt virus transmission and protect children from lifelong paralysis.
The third nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025 is set to commence on May 26, targeting over 45.4 million children under the age of five across 159 districts, including high-risk areas in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Odisha hospital fire toll rises to 12 as 2 more succumb to burn injuries
Bhubaneswar/Cuttack (Odisha) (PTI): The toll in the devastating fire at government-run SCB Medical College and Hospital here climbed to 12 after two more patients succumbed to their burn injuries on Tuesday.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling informed the assembly that a total of 12 people died in the fire incident that took place at the trauma care ICU of the hospital early on Monday.
Terming it a "very sad accident", the minister said, "As soon as the fire broke out, the hospital staffers worked on a war footing to immediately shift 23 patients from the first floor ICU and adjacent wards of the trauma care centre. All of them were shifted to other ICUs and wards."
Seven patients of the trauma care centre died due to their critical condition while five other critically ill patients died while undergoing treatment in other wards and ICUs.
ALSO READ: Cousin records as man shoots self while loading pistol in Delhi; video goes viral
Eleven medical staffers engaged in the rescue of the patients were also injured in the fire. The injured staff members are undergoing treatment and their lives are out of danger, he said.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, visited the hospital on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also taken stock of the situation.
The state government has constituted a judicial panel to probe the incident, and also formed a fact-finding team headed by Development Commissioner D K Singh that visited the hospital. The team will submit a report to the chief secretary.
The blaze had erupted around 2.48 am on the first floor and is suspected to have been triggered by an electrical short circuit.
SCB Medical College and Hospital is the state's premier health facility, with nearly 2,700 beds and it serves thousands daily.
