Villagers reject polio vaccine over water supply issues

THATTA: The residents of a village near Makli, Thatta, refused to administer polio vaccines to their children, ARY News reported.

The incident occurred at the shrine of Bulla Shah, where the local community, including the residents of a nearby village, made it clear that they would not allow polio vaccines until the issue of water supply in their area was addressed.

The villagers stated that they had submitted multiple requests to elected representatives, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Thatta, and the Public Health Department, but received only empty promises.

They emphasised that no progress had been made despite repeated appeals.

The locals, firmly standing by their decision, made it clear that they would be willing to allow polio vaccines once a reliable water supply was ensured in the village.

Read More: Polio virus detected in sewage samples from Sindh districts

In response to the situation, the DC of Thatta, the Chairman of the Makli Town Committee, and the DSP of Thatta visited the village to engage with the community.

The administration and police officials are currently working on convincing the villagers to reconsider their stance and allow the administration of the polio vaccine.

Earlier, Polio virus was detected in sewage samples collected from Mirpurkhas, Thatta, and Naushahro Feroze districts in Sindh.

According to sources, the samples were collected on December 23 and 24 for poliovirus testing.

The sources confirmed that the samples tested positive for Wild Poliovirus Type 1. This development comes after over 480 sewage samples tested positive for poliovirus in 2024.

This development comes as Pakistan continues to grapple with the challenge of polio eradication, with 73 polio cases reported across the country in 2024 alone.

Similarly, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed the detection of the wild poliovirus case type 1 (WPV1) in the country.

The lab confirmed one polio case from a female child from D.I.Khan. The onset of this case was on December 31, 2024.