National epidemic: Quetta polio case ‘traced to Karachi’

QUETTA:

Coordinator Emergency Operation Centre Balochistan Dr Saif ur Rehman stated that the Quetta polio case had its origins in Karachi. He said in a statement that the virus found in the 30-months old boy from the Samungli area of Quetta, did not match samples of the virus found in local sewage lines.

Mohammad Ikram, diagnosed with the virus three days ago, is the first reported case in Balochistan province in 2016.

DNA sequencing has proven that the virus originated from Gadap, Karachi, Dr Rehman said, adding that it did not matter if the boy visited Karachi or not, as someone carrying the virus came in contact with the boy and he contracted the virus.

“Based on DNA sequencing it has been determined that the polio virus found in the environmental sample from Hadi Picket of Killa Abdullah District is from Helmand, Afghanistan,” he said.


Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2016.