By NewsDesk   @bactiman63

Pakistan saw two additional wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases during the past week– one from Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town in Karachi district, Sindh province, and one from North Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Poliovirus Image/CDC

This brings the total cases in Pakistan to 17 and globally the tally is now 24. In all of 2018, 33 WPV1 cases were reported.

In addition, seven WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported in the past week: one each from Baldia Town and S.I.T.E in Karachi district, Sindh province; one from Lahore district, Punjab province; one from Federal Capital Territory, Islamabad; one each from Bannu district and South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province; one from Quetta district, Balochistan province.

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Besides Pakistan, the following circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus cases and WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported: Afghanistan – 1 wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1)-positive environmental sample; Niger – 1 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) isolated from a healthy community contact and Nigeria – 1 case classified cVDPV2 based on a positive contact and 3 cVDPV2-positive environmental samples.

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Lastly, health ministers and delegates attending the World Health Assembly this week in Geneva welcomed the new Polio Endgame Strategy 2019-2023, reiterating the need to fully implement and fund all aspects of the strategy to secure a lasting polio-free world.  The five-year plan spells out the tactics and tools to wipe out the poliovirus from its last remaining reservoirs, including innovative strategies to vaccinate hard-to-reach children and expanded partnerships with the Expanded Programme on Immunization community and health emergencies.