BACKGROUND The first instances of HIV-antibody detection in donated blood in Pakistan were reported in 1988. Since then, documentation of HIV in blood donors and of rates of transmission via transfusion has been limited. Previously assumed to have a low prevalence, HIV is an increasing health concern in Pakistan. Since there is no national, centralized blood-banking system, there are no reliabl...

About 10 million Pakistani population is infected with Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The prevalence is even more pronounced among high risk population. The commonest mode of transmission is the use of injections, unsterilized needles and contaminated instruments. Combination of standard interferon and ribavirin is still the first line therapy with sustained viral response (SVR) up to 40-50%. Pool of...

MMWR / May 3, 2013 / Vol. 62 / No. 17 335 In May 2012, the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the completion of polio eradication a programmatic emergency (1). Since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988, the number of annual polio cases has decreased by >99%. As of March 2013, circulation of indigenous wild poliovirus (WPV) cont...