Fighting Polio: K-P’s first case surfaces in Nowshera

KARAK/ NOWSHERA: The first polio case from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in 2016 was reported from Shirin Kota, Bara Banda union council in Nowshera on Thursday. The child who was diagnosed has been identified as 19-month-old Abdullah, son of Jihad Khan. Abdullah first showed symptoms on January 22 and reports confirmed the diagnosis on Thursday. The first case of the year was earlier reported from Sindh. Meanwhile, 82 parents were arrested on account of not allowing their children to be administered polio drops – 70 of which belong to Takh-e-Nusrati tehsil, six to Karak and six to Banda Daud Shah in Karak. The jailed parents were being convinced into letting their children be vaccinated. Local clerics have also been approached for their help in this regard. Karak DC Abid Khan Wazir ordered assistant commissioners to not release arrested parents until every child in the district was vaccinated against the disease.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2016.