Another polio case emerges in Balochistan

The province’s tally has now hit seven and Pakistan’s to 42 this year

QUETTA: A four-year-old girl was tested positive for poliovirus in Osta Mohammad Tehsil of Jaffarabad in Balochistan on Saturday, raising the province’s tally to seven and Pakistan’s to 42 this year.

According to health officials, the child had not been administered the polio vaccine and his family was also found wanting in this connection. Samples of the child were taken on April 20 and 21.

The last case was reported on March 11 in the province when a two-year-old boy was tested positive for poliovirus in Zhob region of Balochistan.

Most recently two fresh cases of polio Type-2 were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on April 27.

According to the Polio Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), the cases emerged from Peshawar and South Waziristan, raising the provincial tally of Type-2 cases to 38 for the current year.

As per the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme’s website, the total number of polio cases reported in Pakistan this year has reached 42 – one from Punjab, 15 from Sindh, 19 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and seven from Balochistan.

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus mainly affecting children under the age of five. 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 five is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased.