Another polio case detected in Shikarpur

Father of the victim, Ghulam Muhammad Jatoi, says child had received seven oral doses of anti-polio drops

KARACHI: A four and a half-year-old boy in Shikarpur became the latest polio patient and the second in the same union council over the past two months, provincial health officials confirmed on Friday. The boy is believed to be the fourth such victim identified by the health authorities in Sindh.

Acting District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Khurshid Kazi quoted the father of the victim, Ghulam Muhammad Jatoi, as saying that the child had received seven oral doses of anti-polio drops.

After the detection of this polio case, the total figure of polio cases in Pakistan rose to nine since the beginning of this year.

The disease is said to have affected the boy’s left leg and thigh and his left arm and forearm, while the date of onset for the virus is April 12.

According to Kazi, the victim had a travelling history and the area was considered to be an isolated one because of tribal clashes. He added that children in the area were found to have genetically low immunity because of less focus on routine immunisation.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2016.