Two fresh cases of poliovirus surface in K-P

Cases from Lakki Marwat, Bajaur take 2018 polio tally in Pakistan to 10

PESHAWAR: Two new cases of polio have surfaced in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, bringing the total number of 2018’s polio cases in Pakistan to ten.

A 16-month-old girl belonging to Marmundu Azam area of Lakki Marwat district and a two-and-a-half-year old boy belonging to Bajaur Agency are the latest victims to have been infected with the virus.

The cases were added to last year’s tally as the samples were collected from the children in December 2018. The samples were sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad for verification.

In its report sent to the K-P Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), the NIH confirmed that the children had contracted polio.

According to health officials, the girl was given polio drops more than seven times but missed vaccination at birth.

Another child, a two-and-a-half-year old boy was not administered polio drops due to refusal from his parents. The child’s father had administered the drops to both his daughters but turned down the vaccination for his son. Consequently, the child missed the vaccination during the course of his routine immunization.

With the latest cases, the K-P Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) puts the total number of polio cases in the province at six.

As per the figures forwarded by the health department, one case has been reported from district Charsadda, one from Lakki Marwat, three from Bajaur and one from district Khyber.

With this, the total number of 2018 polio cases in Pakistan has risen to nine.