Polio cripples four more children

Four new cases of poliovirus were reported from different parts of the country. The new cases pushed the tally of poliovirus cases in the country to 63.

According to National Institute of Health (NIH), the latest cases were reported from Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Jacobabad and Sukkur.

Among those crippled by poliovirus, three are girls and one is boy. All four cases were classified as Wild Polio Virus Type-1.

As per NIH statistics, it is the ninth case of poliovirus from Dera Ismail Khan in 2024, third case from Tank and Jaccobabd, and first case from Sukkur.

The highest number of poliovirus cases this year were reported in Balochistan (26), followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (18), Sindh (17), and one case each in Punjab and Islamabad.

According to Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Sindh, out of the 17 cases from the province, five were reported from Karachi, three from Jacobabad, two from Hyderabad and one case each from Shikarpur, Mirpurkhas, Ghotki, Sajawal, Sanghar, Kashmore and Sukkur.

As per ECO, the countrywide anti-polio vaccination campaign will be held from December 16 to December 22.

Around 44 million children under the age of five will be inoculated during the drive. Parents' and public cooperation is indispensible for making the campaign successful so that the disease could be completely eradicated from the country, added the ECO.