Pakistan's polio eradication campaign is in disarray after the South Asian country of 240 million people reported the year's fifth case of the highly infectious virus. It is another blow to the country's efforts to eradicate the debilitating disease.

Four polio cases were reported in the southwestern Balochistan province bordering Afghanistan, while a fifth case is the latest to be reported from the southern Sindh province, raising concerns about the feasibility of eradicating polio in the near future.

"The cases this year are a striking reminder that no child anywhere would be totally safe from the crippling disease until Pakistan succeeded in eradicating polio completely," said Malik Mukhtar Bharath, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coordinator on national health services.

According to the World Health Organization, polio, which is found typically in children under the age of 5 and can lead to paralysis or even death, remains endemic in two countries — Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Last year six cases of the virus were detected in Pakistan. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), Pakistan was tantalizingly close to the elimination of polio after just one case was reported in 2021.

Experts believe that the cases emerging in Pakistan are due to various factors.

"Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to operate in a highly complex and challenging environment," Dr Hamid Jafari, director of polio eradication at the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, told DW.

"Primary drivers of risks include large population movements, insecurity compromising access........

© Deutsche Welle