Two more polio cases confirmed

Number of patients in country rises to five


Our Correspondent February 26, 2016
PHOTO: REUTERS

PESHAWAR: Two new polio cases were confirmed from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, bringing the total number of cases reported in 2016 to three for the province and five for the country.

One of the cases was identified from the provincial capital and the other from Hangu. According to unofficial reports, the latter is an Afghan national.

The first case was confirmed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad which tested a stool sample obtained from 21-month old Jareer, son of Waliullah, a resident of Haider Colony in Akhunabad.  “We found out Jareer’s family refused vaccination from polio teams,” a senior official at the provincial operation cell said, requesting anonymity.

The NIH said the second case was confirmed from Hangu district where seven-month-old Naureen Bibi, daughter of Ajab, was infected by poliovirus. She belongs to Mohalla Musa Jan of Ganjiano village.  Locals told The Express Tribune, the infant is suspected to be a resident of Afghanistan.However, it was not clear whether she was a refugee or an unregistered national. This remained unconfirmed till the fiing of this report.

So far, three poliovirus cases have been confirmed in K-P this year. The first was detected on February 18, 2016 in Bara Banda union council of Nowshera district. The other two cases from the country were found in Karachi and Quetta.

Around 16 cases were confirmed in the province through the course of 2015.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th,  2016.

 

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