Re-Emergence of Polio in Pakistan: Another Public Health Failure?

According to available data, around 2–5% of children and 15–30% of adults die due to respiratory arrest; thereby, it remains one of the leading threats to public health and economic prosperity in developing countries. 1 To this day, Pakistan continues to combat this deadly virus. A tragedy for the infected infants and their families, health authorities in Pakistan confirm that the poliovirus transmission is not just related to North Waziristan, as positive environmental samples have been reported from the Bannu region as well. 4 Despite signs of significant improvement for a brief period, it now seems that there is a high possibility of a resurgence unless strict measures are taken to rectify Pakistan’s forsaken public health system. [...]the lack of awareness regarding booster doses and the misbelief that children are given more doses than the number approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) further fuel their mistrust. 7 Hence, increasing the awareness and understanding of the people is imperative to reduce polio vaccine refusals and eventually expand its coverage.