Pakistan’s Polio Programme has made substantial gains this year with only one wild poliovirus case and eight type-2 cases reported.

Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre, Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) Dr. Shahzad Baig in an interview with Gulf News, said the 99 percent decline in wild poliovirus type 1 cases indicates that Pakistan is on the right track to achieve polio eradication.

He said wild poliovirus affected 84 while 135 children were infected by type 2 virus in the country last year.

Dr Shahzad stressed that Pakistan needs to redouble efforts to ensure zero new cases by reaching every child with the polio vaccine.

He said over 40 million children under five years of age were vaccinated with the polio vaccine during the third nationwide immunization campaign in September this year as health workers went door to door to protect children from the crippling disease.

Dr Shahzad said that government under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to make Pakistan polio-free.