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Tag: vaccination

  • US Measles Cases Pass 5,182 in Worst Surge Since 1991

    US Measles Cases Pass 5,182 in Worst Surge Since 1991

    Measles cases in the United States have passed 5,000 this year, reaching the highest annual total in 35 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency confirmed 5,182 cases as of 5 November 2026, more than double the 2,289 recorded across the whole of 2025, and the most since 1991, when 9,643 cases were reported.

    The cases have been reported across 47 jurisdictions, including 45 states, Washington DC and New York City, with a further 18 cases among international visitors. The CDC has recorded 43 new outbreaks this year, and 96 percent of confirmed cases are linked to outbreaks that began in 2025 or 2026. About 11 percent of patients, 562 people, have needed hospital treatment.

    Health officials link the surge to falling vaccination rates. According to federal data, 96 percent of confirmed cases have been in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. MMR vaccination among US kindergarteners has fallen from 95.2 percent in the 2019-20 school year to 92.4 percent in 2025-26, leaving more than 280,000 children at risk, the CDC says. Coverage above 95 percent is needed for community protection, often called herd immunity.

    The death toll is disputed. The CDC lists four measles-related deaths in 2026, while state health departments have reported eight, six in Pennsylvania, one in New York and one in Wisconsin, according to ABC News. Pennsylvania has reported the country’s largest outbreak, with more than 1,400 cases.

    Hospitals on alert as Indiana cases climb

    In Indiana, confirmed cases have risen from 29 on 8 October to 153 by 10 November, an increase of more than 400 percent in a month, according to the Indiana Department of Health. Cases have been found in more than 20 counties, with the highest numbers in LaGrange, Adams and Wayne counties. In LaGrange County, where cases are highest, the MMR vaccination rate among kindergarteners stands at just 74 percent.

    Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis has begun screening all visitors for measles, the first time it has done so for the disease. The hospital cares for some of the state’s most vulnerable children, including babies too young for the MMR vaccine and children with weakened immune systems. The virus can linger in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves a room, the hospital’s infection prevention chief said.

    Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, meaning the virus was no longer spreading within the country. That status is now under review: a Pan American Health Organization expert commission is meeting from 10 to 13 November to assess whether the virus has circulated continuously in the US for more than 12 months.

    Health officials say the MMR vaccine remains the best protection. Two doses are about 97 percent effective at preventing measles, and one dose about 93 percent effective, according to the CDC. Early symptoms include high fever, cough, a runny nose, red and watery eyes, and a red, blotchy rash that usually starts on the face before spreading.

  • وٹامن کے کا انجکشن نہ لگوانا 11 روز کی بچی کی جان لے گیا

    وٹامن کے کا انجکشن نہ لگوانا 11 روز کی بچی کی جان لے گیا

    ٹیکساس میں صرف 11 روز کی نوزائیدہ بچی گوین بیسن باخ کی موت نے پیدائش کے وقت لگائے جانے والے وٹامن کے کے انجکشن کی اہمیت پر سنگین سوال کھڑا کر دیا ہے۔ بچی کی ناف سے خون بہنا بند نہیں ہو رہا تھا، اور جس ایمرجنسی روم میں اسے لے جایا گیا، وہاں سات گھنٹے تک اسے وہ انجکشن نہیں دیا گیا جو اس کی جان بچا سکتا تھا۔ سی این این اور پروپبلکا کی تحقیق کے مطابق، یہ واقعہ اگست 2023 میں پیش آیا تھا۔

    گوین کے والدین نے پیدائش کے وقت انجکشن لگوانے سے انکار کر دیا تھا اور اس کی جگہ منہ سے دیے جانے والے قطرے استعمال کر رہے تھے۔ جب خون بہنا بند نہ ہوا تو وہ بچی کو گھر سے ایک میل دور لون اسٹار ایمرجنسی روم لے گئے۔ ڈاکٹر نکول ملوف نے خاص پٹی اور سلور نائٹریٹ سمیت سات طریقوں سے خون روکنے کی کوشش کی، لیکن خون بہتا رہا۔ ایمرجنسی روم میں وٹامن کے کا انجکشن موجود ہی نہیں تھا۔ منتقلی کے دوران ایمبولینس کی ٹیم نے رات 3 بج کر 45 منٹ پر انجکشن لگایا، لیکن بہت دیر ہو چکی تھی۔ اسپتال پہنچتے ہی بچی کا دل رک گیا، ڈاکٹروں نے 34 منٹ تک سی پی آر کیا، مگر صبح 9 بجے کے کچھ دیر بعد بچی دم توڑ گئی۔

    ٹیکساس میڈیکل بورڈ نے اکتوبر 2025 میں فیصلہ دیا کہ ڈاکٹر ملوف بیماری کو پہچاننے میں ناکام رہیں، انہوں نے بچی کو بروقت ماہر اسپتال منتقل نہیں کیا اور خون کی مقدار کا اندازہ بھی نہیں لگایا۔ بورڈ نے ڈاکٹر کو 24 گھنٹے کی مزید طبی تعلیم کا حکم دیا۔ ڈاکٹر ملوف نے الزامات کو نہ تسلیم کیا نہ انکار کیا۔

    1960 کی دہائی سے امریکہ میں تقریباً ہر نوزائیدہ بچے کو یہ انجکشن لگایا جاتا ہے، جس سے یہ بیماری تقریباً ختم ہو گئی تھی۔ لیکن حالیہ برسوں میں والدین کی جانب سے انکار بڑھ رہا ہے۔ گزشتہ ہفتے شائع ہونے والی دو بڑی تحقیقوں میں پایا گیا کہ جن بچوں کو یہ انجکشن نہیں لگا، ان میں خون بہنے کا خطرہ زیادہ تھا۔ ایک تجزیے کے مطابق، 2017 سے 2025 کے دوران اس بیماری کے کیسز میں 347 فیصد اضافہ ہوا، جبکہ 2026 کے پہلے چھ ماہ میں انکار کی شرح 5.2 سے بڑھ کر 8.1 فیصد ہو گئی۔ امریکی ادارہ سی ڈی سی، امریکن اکیڈمی آف پیڈیاٹرکس اور عالمی ادارہ صحت سبھی اس انجکشن کی سفارش کرتے ہیں۔ ماہرین کے مطابق، منہ کے قطرے انجکشن سے کم مؤثر ہیں اور امریکہ میں ان کی منظوری ایف ڈی اے نے نہیں دی۔ ڈاکٹروں کا کہنا ہے کہ شک کی صورت میں بھی انجکشن فوراً لگانا چاہیے، اس کا کوئی نقصان نہیں۔

    والدین نے بتایا کہ وہ گھر پر پیدائش اور قدرتی طریقوں کو ترجیح دیتے تھے، اور انٹرنیٹ پر تحقیق کر کے قطروں کا انتخاب کیا تھا۔ ان کے چھوٹے بیٹے کو ویکسین کے بعد تیز بخار ہوا تھا، جس کے بعد وہ طبی مداخلت سے محتاط ہو گئے تھے، حالانکہ سائنسی تحقیق میں ویکسینز اور آٹزم کے درمیان کوئی تعلق ثابت نہیں ہوا۔ بورڈ نے واضح کیا کہ اگر کسی اسپتال میں ضروری دوا یا سہولت موجود نہ ہو تو مریض کو فوراً بہتر سہولت والے اسپتال منتقل کرنا ڈاکٹر کی ذمہ داری ہے۔

  • 24 Million Children Vaccinated in Polio Campaign

    24 Million Children Vaccinated in Polio Campaign

    More than 24 million children under the age of five have been vaccinated in a nationwide polio campaign that ended on Sunday, health officials said. The six-day drive, which began on 2 November 2026, covered 97 selected districts across the country and was carried out by more than 200,000 workers.

    Punjab led the count with 9,126,000 children vaccinated, followed by Sindh with 7,019,000. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4,673,000 children received the vaccine, while Balochistan recorded 2,212,000. In the federal capital, more than 450,000 children were covered, along with more than 161,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and about 192,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

    Health Minister Mustafa Kamal called the campaign “a huge success” and said “Pakistan has won a crucial battle in the war against polio.” Health officials said nine polio cases had been reported in 2026 so far, which they described as a clear sign of the campaign’s success.

    The scale of the operation was considerable. More than 200,000 workers took part in the drive, moving from district to district over six days to reach children in homes, schools and communities across the country. The campaign’s final day fell on 8 November, bringing the nationwide effort to a close.

    The figures reported by the health authorities show coverage in every part of the country, from the largest provinces to the smaller regions. Punjab, the most populous province, accounted for the largest share of vaccinations, while the campaign also reached children in Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

    Officials pointed to the low number of cases reported this year as evidence that the vaccination effort is working. With only nine cases recorded in 2026 so far, they said the campaign had delivered a significant result in the continuing fight against the disease, and they described the outcome as a crucial victory for the country’s public health effort.

    The campaign was one of the largest health drives of the year, and its completion marks the end of a week of intensive vaccination work. Health workers will now turn to follow-up and monitoring, as officials assess the full results of the drive and plan the next steps in the effort to keep polio cases down.

  • Half of Pakistan’s Polio Cases Linked to Afghanistan

    Half of Pakistan’s Polio Cases Linked to Afghanistan

    The spread of poliovirus from Afghanistan into Pakistan has raised fresh concerns among health authorities, with officials warning that cross-border transmission is keeping the virus in circulation in Pakistan.

    According to health authorities, between 40 and 50 per cent of the polio cases reported in Pakistan over the past two months have been genetically linked to Afghanistan. The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative said the share of Afghan-linked detections stood at about 50 per cent in September and 40 per cent in October.

    Afghanistan has reported 50 polio cases this year, against nine in Pakistan. The World Health Organization describes the two countries as a single epidemiological block, meaning transmission in one country puts the other at risk. Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus transmission has never been interrupted.

    Pakistan’s ninth case of 2026 was confirmed this week in a seven-month-old boy from the Bara tehsil of Khyber district. Genetic testing showed the virus was linked to strains circulating in Afghanistan. All three cases reported from Khyber district this year have the same Afghan link.

    Of Pakistan’s nine cases this year, seven are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — three each from Khyber and Bannu districts and one from North Waziristan — while two are from Sindh, in Karachi East and Sujawal. Afghanistan’s cases are spread across 12 provinces, with Hilmand reporting 12, Kandahar 11 and Nangarhar 10.

    Officials have identified the return of deported Afghan nationals through illegal crossing points as a major risk factor. They say large numbers of people are returning through sporadic crossing points in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and moving across the country, making undocumented movement one of the biggest concerns for the eradication effort.

    Health officials also revealed that poliovirus originating in Afghanistan has been detected in 29 sewage samples collected across Pakistan, including in Karachi, Jamshoro, Rawalpindi and Multan. The findings indicate the virus continues to circulate and highlight the challenges facing vaccination and surveillance programmes.

    Pakistan’s figures show steady progress overall. Cases fell from 74 in 2024 to 31 in 2025 and nine so far this year, and the country has cut polio cases by 99.8 per cent from an estimated 20,000 a year in the early 1990s. A nationwide vaccination drive is under way from November 2 to 8, targeting about 24 million children under five across 97 districts, and is being run at the same time in both countries.

  • Four polio workers abducted in Tank, search under way

    Four polio workers abducted in Tank, search under way

    Four polio vaccination workers have been abducted by armed men in Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police accounts reported, in an incident that has drawn condemnation from the provincial governor.

    According to police accounts carried by Pakistani newspapers, the workers were travelling to perform their duties when armed men opened fire and seized the team, taking them to an undisclosed location. The incident took place in the Sheikh Attar union council area of Tank district, on the first day of a sub-national immunisation round.

    Police have launched an investigation and a search operation to trace the workers and identify those responsible, but their whereabouts remained unknown at the time of reporting. Police have not named a suspect, and have not said whether the workers were targeted because of their vaccination work.

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the abduction and expressed deep concern for the safety of the four health workers, calling for immediate and effective measures to secure their safe recovery. He described the incident as deeply regrettable, according to reports of his statement.

    In a separate incident in the same week, two members of a polio vaccination team were abducted in the Azam Warsak area of Lower South Waziristan and later released, according to the same police accounts. The two incidents are not confirmed to be linked.

    The abductions came as Pakistan began a nationwide campaign running from 2 to 8 November in 97 districts, aiming to reach nearly 24 million children under five. Pakistan remains one of only two countries where wild poliovirus is still endemic, and attacks on vaccination teams have repeatedly disrupted campaigns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    The same week also saw two police personnel killed in Mohmand district while travelling to provide security to a polio team, in a separate attack that the governor also condemned. Officials said the violence underlines the risks faced by frontline health workers and the police officers assigned to protect them.

    For the families of the four workers in Tank, the immediate question remains unanswered: where they are, and when they will come home. Authorities say efforts to recover them are under way, and the governor has urged that no effort be spared in bringing them back safely.

  • Unvaccinated New York child dies after measles infection

    Unvaccinated New York child dies after measles infection

    A child in New York has died after contracting measles, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Monday. The state health department is investigating the death, and the governor said she could not provide further details yet about the case.

    According to the New York State Health Department, the child was unvaccinated and had travelled internationally. The child was not a resident of New York City. Beyond those details, officials have not released further information while the investigation continues, and the governor said more would be shared when it becomes available.

    The death comes against a backdrop of sharply rising measles cases across the United States. More than 4,800 measles cases have been reported in the country this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figures underline how widely the highly contagious virus has spread in 2026, after years in which measles had been far less common in the US.

    The CDC figures also show who is most affected. The agency said 96 percent of measles cases in the US this year have been in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. It also said 17 percent of people who contracted measles have been hospitalised, a reminder that the illness can lead to serious complications and not only a rash and fever.

    Measles spreads easily through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and it can linger in the air for some time afterwards. Health authorities have long recommended vaccination as the main protection against the disease, and the current pattern of cases, concentrated among the unvaccinated, is consistent with that advice.

    The New York case is now the subject of a state investigation, which will seek to establish the full circumstances of the child’s illness and travel. Until that work is complete, officials have been careful not to speculate beyond what has been confirmed. For families, the message from health authorities remains unchanged: check vaccination status, seek medical advice if measles is suspected, and avoid contact with others while infectious.

  • پولیو مہم کی تیاریوں کا نیوک میں جائزہ

    پولیو مہم کی تیاریوں کا نیوک میں جائزہ

    وفاقی سیکرٹری برائے قومی صحت خدمات مومن آغا نے جمعرات کو پولیو کے خاتمے کے قومی ایمرجنسی آپریشنز سینٹر کا دورہ کیا اور جاری کوششوں کا جائزہ لیا۔ اس دورے کا مقصد آئندہ پولیو ویکسینیشن مہم کی تیاریوں کا جائزہ لینا اور ملک بھر میں ویکسینیشن کی کوریج کو مزید مضبوط بنانے کے اقدامات پر غور کرنا تھا۔

    دورے کے دوران مومن آغا کو نیوک کی ٹیم نے تفصیلی بریفنگ دی، جس میں ملک میں پولیو کی موجودہ صورتحال، خاتمے کی سرگرمیوں میں پیش رفت، عملی منصوبہ بندی اور ویکسینیشن کی کوریج بہتر بنانے کے اقدامات شامل تھے۔ بریفنگ میں آئندہ مہم کی تیاریوں پر بھی بات ہوئی، جن میں وفاقی اور صوبائی صحت حکام کے درمیان رابطہ، فرنٹ لائن ویکسینیشن ٹیموں کی تیاری اور اس بات کو یقینی بنانے کی حکمت عملی شامل ہے کہ ہر اہل بچے کو پولیو کے قطرے پلائے جائیں۔

    نگرانی، احتساب اور عوامی اعتماد

    مومن آغا نے پولیو کے خاتمے کے لیے حکومت کے عزم کا اعادہ کیا اور کہا کہ قومی ہدف کے حصول کے لیے مربوط کوششیں، مؤثر نگرانی اور ہر سطح پر احتساب ضروری ہے۔ انہوں نے عملی چیلنجز سے نمٹنے، کمیونٹیز کو ساتھ ملانے اور عوامی اعتماد پیدا کرنے کی اہمیت پر زور دیا، تاکہ ویکسینیشن مہمات کامیاب ہوں، خاص طور پر ان علاقوں میں جہاں بچوں کو پولیو وائرس کا خطرہ بدستور موجود ہے۔

    انہوں نے متعلقہ فریقوں کے درمیان تعاون مضبوط بنانے اور جامع منصوبہ بندی، مؤثر عملدرآمد اور مسلسل نگرانی کے ذریعے پولیو سے پاک پاکستان کے لیے کوششیں جاری رکھنے کے عزم کا بھی اعادہ کیا۔ حکام کے مطابق معمول کی حفاظتی ویکسینیشن کو مضبوط بنانا بھی اتنا ہی ضروری ہے، کیونکہ بچوں کو پولیو اور دیگر قابل انسداد بیماریوں سے بچانے کے لیے مسلسل ویکسینیشن کوریج اور صحت کی خدمات کی بہتری ناگزیر ہے۔

    پولیو کے خاتمے کا پروگرام پاکستان میں برسوں سے جاری ہے اور اس میں ہزاروں فرنٹ لائن کارکن گھر گھر جا کر بچوں کو قطرے پلاتے ہیں۔ نیوک کے مطابق آئندہ مہم 2 سے 8 نومبر 2026 تک 97 اضلاع میں چلائی جائے گی، جس میں تقریباً دو کروڑ چالیس لاکھ بچوں کو ویکسین پلانے کا ہدف ہے۔ یہ مہم ان علاقوں پر مرکوز ہے جہاں وائرس کی گردش کا خطرہ زیادہ ہے، اور اس کا مقصد کسی بھی بچے کو ویکسین سے محروم نہ رہنے دینا ہے۔ صحت حکام کا کہنا ہے کہ والدین کا تعاون، درست معلومات اور مقامی سطح پر نگرانی مہم کی کامیابی میں فیصلہ کن کردار ادا کرتے ہیں، اور ہر دور میں قطرے پلانا ضروری ہے چاہے بچے کو پہلے بھی قطرے پلائے جا چکے ہوں۔

  • Pakistan polio tally hits seven after Karachi East case

    Pakistan polio tally hits seven after Karachi East case

    Pakistan has recorded its seventh polio case of 2026 after a new case was reported in Karachi East, health officials said on Monday. According to the Sindh Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), five of the seven cases reported this year are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two from Sindh.

    The latest case was confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad after the virus was detected through the polio surveillance network. The affected child is a six-month-old boy from Union Council Jamali Colony in Karachi East. The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) said a comprehensive investigation into the case had been launched.

    According to the Sindh EOC, the last polio case in Karachi was reported in December 2024 — nearly two years ago. Officials stressed that although polio is an incurable disease, it can be prevented through vaccination.

    Nationwide campaign from November 2

    The development comes ahead of a week-long sub-national polio vaccination campaign scheduled for November 2 to 8, during which more than 23.9 million children under five years of age will be vaccinated across 97 selected districts of the country, including all districts of Karachi. The campaign will run in synchronisation with Afghanistan.

    Under the campaign plan, more than 9.278 million children will be vaccinated in 13 selected districts of Punjab, while over 6.883 million children will receive polio drops in 20 districts of Sindh. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the campaign will target more than 4.808 million children across 27 selected districts, while over 2.217 million children will be vaccinated in 31 districts of Balochistan.

    The NEOC said frontline polio workers would visit households to administer two drops of the vaccine to every eligible child. The Polio Eradication Initiative is also analysing a science-based response to tackle and prevent further transmission, including targeted vaccination activities and support to strengthen routine immunisation.

    Long fight against the virus

    Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by the poliovirus that primarily affects children under the age of five. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or death. While there is no cure, vaccination remains the most effective means of prevention. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where wild poliovirus remains endemic.

    According to the NEOC, Pakistan has recorded a 99.8 per cent reduction in polio cases — from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to 31 in 2025 and seven so far this year. Four nationwide polio campaigns have already been conducted in 2026, protecting more than 45 million children multiple times, in addition to targeted oral and injectable vaccination activities in high-risk areas.

  • Bangladesh Battles World’s Worst Measles Outbreak

    Bangladesh Battles World’s Worst Measles Outbreak

    Bangladesh is battling to contain the world’s worst measles outbreak, a crisis driven by weak data, inadequate outreach and vaccination gaps that experts say should serve as a warning to every country about the deadly cost of falling immunisation rates.

    The country, whose routine vaccination programme faltered in 2025, reported 202,000 suspected measles cases — 22,000 of them laboratory-confirmed — between mid-March and October 9, the World Health Organization said. That is more suspected cases than any other country in the world this year.

    So far, 1,147 people have died of the highly contagious disease, with 94 per cent of reported deaths among children under five years old, the WHO said.

    “This is a real warning to every country,” said Mark Jit, a WHO vaccine adviser and professor at the School of Global Public Health at New York University. “Preventing an outbreak through vaccinations was easier, cheaper and safer than responding to an emergency.”

    Coverage fell below the safety line

    Bangladesh’s experience shows how quickly an outbreak can take hold when vaccination coverage falls below 95 per cent, the level the WHO says is needed to prevent outbreaks. The country had almost achieved that level in recent years, but coverage dropped in 2025.

    A joint WHO-UNICEF report published in July estimated that first-dose measles coverage in 2025 had fallen to 90 per cent, down from 96 per cent in 2024, while second-dose coverage dropped from 93 per cent to 86 per cent — several percentage points below the 95 per cent needed for herd immunity.

    The report also questioned the quality of official vaccination data for 2023 to 2025, noting that preliminary figures sometimes showed inoculations exceeding 100 per cent of those targeted.

    A Reuters review of WHO documents, along with interviews with more than a dozen scientists, health workers and officials, found that Bangladesh’s emergency response was hampered by data that left out millions of children, shortcomings in preparation and a failure to reach enough parents.

    The human cost

    In the northeastern Sylhet region, one of the worst-hit areas in the nation of 178 million people, two-year-old Arman Hossain died unvaccinated in July, 24 hours after admission to hospital for treatment paid for by selling the family’s three-wheeled auto rickshaw. His unvaccinated four-year-old sister survived.

    His father, Amin Mia, 26, said no health workers came to their remote village in Sylhet to offer vaccinations in time. “They came only after I buried my son,” he said.

    In the town of Chhatak, also in Sylhet, the daughter of 30-year-old carpenter Humayun Rashid died unvaccinated in June, aged nine months. Labiba Akter could have received an inoculation in April, when an emergency programme lowered the vaccination age to six months from nine. “No health worker came to tell us,” her father said.

    Measles usually kills two or three people in every 1,000 cases, the WHO says, but the disease can be more deadly in poorer nations because of factors such as malnutrition.

    Ziauddin Hyder, special assistant on health affairs to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, told Reuters in September that the government was doing everything it could to end the outbreak. The government did not respond to further questions sent in October, Reuters reported.