“Environmental surveillance of polio continues to expand,” WHO said.
WHO Afghanistan has said its polio environmental monitoring formula is being scaled up, with the aim of succeeding in more communities and boosting polio eradication efforts in the country.
Doctors have advised setting up sites to collect sewage samples, looking for poliovirus to eliminate polio in the country, according to Tolo News.
The announcement comes after some Kabul citizens asked the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to increase the number of its employees.
“They can increase the number of their workers in Afghanistan so that other people get advantages and are protected from these diseases,” said Wahidullah, a Kabul resident.
Khalil Ahmad, a Kabul resident, said: “They can activate their groups in all spaces and the groups were also active before. “
In 2023, there have already been 4 cases of polio in Afghanistan. The first case emerged in May when a 4-year-old boy was diagnosed with the virus in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar province.
While this is a cumulative concern since last year, it is noteworthy that the number of polio cases has declined particularly over time.
In 2022, two cases were reported in Kunar and Paktia provinces, marking the lowest point of occurrence in the country.
In 2021, 4 cases were recorded and in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted vaccination services, in at least 56 reported cases.
According to the United Nations (UN), Afghanistan and Pakistan are the two countries where polio remains endemic in the world.
Despite progress, Afghanistan, along with Pakistan, remains one of the last two countries where polio remains endemic. Ongoing conflicts and weak public and immunization pose significant demanding situations to eliminate the disease in those areas.
In addition, common cross-border movements between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with an estimated 1. 5 million young people crossing the border annually, make cross-border transmission inevitable.
Sayed Abdullah Ahmadi, director of Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital, said: “This is a wonderful step in such a state. In almost every region of the world, polio has been eradicated. “(ANI)