Global polio eradication; can we replicate the smallpox success story?

Although the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has been largely successful in elimination of polio from various parts of the world, sporadic local outbreaks in non-endemic areas continue to pose a threat to global polio eradication efforts. In the two endemic countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, a staggering 176 cases of wild poliovirus 1 (WPV1) were reported in 2019. In 2020 alone, 959 cases of Circulating Vaccine Derived Poliovirus 2 were reported globally from 27 countries. After staying polio-free for years, cases of WPV were detected in Malawi and Mozambique in 2022. The roots of the reported strains matched with the WPV strain from Pakistan. The emergence of WPV cases in Malawi and Mozambique underscores the fact that WPV still has the chance to spread beyond the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and sustained efforts are required for its complete eradication. In the case of smallpox, surveillance-containment was the key to eradication as many countries had already eradicated smallpox and the bigger concern was to track and contain any new cases emerging. Smallpox eradication followed a comprehensive plan which included elements like quality control and standardisation of vaccination protocols. Governments all over the world should prioritise immunisation drives, surveillance, and awareness campaigns to achieve the dream of a polio-free world.

Prevalence of Nomophobia and an Analysis of Its Contributing Factors in the Undergraduate Students of Pakistan.

Nomophobia (no-mobile-phone phobia) is a relatively new term that describes the growing fear and anxiety associated with being without a mobile phone. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of nomophobia among the undergraduate students of Pakistan, and to determine its correlation with age and gender. It also aims to determine the contributory factors of nomophobia. A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey from March 25 to April 25, 2021. The snowball sampling technique was used for data collection. The Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) developed by Yildirim and Correia was circulated among the target population. It was a 7-point Likert Scale that was analyzed on the basis of age and gender using IBM SPSS version 22 and MS Excel 2007. The contributing factors were also analyzed. Of the 483 responses we received, 28 were discarded due to incompleteness and respondents being out of age under study that is, 15-25 years. Most of the respondents were women (n = 314, 69.01 percent). Men were less in number than women (n = 141, 31 percent). The ages of most of the respondents lied between 15 and 25 years. Twenty was the mode age. One hundred eighty-six (40.88 percent) had severe, 221 (48.57 percent) had moderate, and 48 (10.55 percent) had mild nomophobia. Average factor-wise scores and individual item scores were also added. Our findings reached a conclusion that the majority of the undergraduate students in Pakistan suffer from nomophobia ranging from its mild to severe form. Nomophobia can possibly be included as a recognized phobia in the DSM. Wider research on the subject to investigate it further and evaluate the clinical significance should be done.