Another polio case surfaces in Balochistan

Virus detected in 18-month old girl in Habib Zai, UC of Qila Abdullah, Chaman

QUETTA: Another polio case surfaced after an 18-month-old girl was diagnosed with the crippling disease in Balochistan.

The case was reported from Habib Zai, union council of Qila Abdullah, Chaman.

According to health ministry officials, parents of the affected girl had denied administering anti-polio drops to their child during the campaigns that were launched by the government.

The child’s samples had been taken for testing on December 31, 2019.

The health ministry officials claimed that 80% of the parents in UC Habib Zai refused administering anti-polio drops to their children.

In 2019, 12 polio cases had been reported from Balochistan, of which a large number were reported from Qilla Abdullah.

Balochistan Emergency Polio Centre had also initiated a special polio vaccination campaign after the rise of cases in the province.

The health officials said that special measures were being taken to counter the crippling virus in sensitive areas such as Quetta, Pishin and Qilla Abdullah.

First polio case of 2020 confirmed in Lakki Marwat

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus mainly affecting children under the age of 5. It invades the nervous system and causes paralysis or even death.

While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Each time a child under the age of 5 is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased.

Repeated immunisations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become polio free.

There are only two countries in the world — Pakistan and Afghanistan — where polio cases are being reported.

Pakistan remains under a polio-linked travel restriction imposed by the World Health Organisation due to which, since 2014, every person travelling abroad has to carry a polio vaccination certificate.