Crippling virus: Second polio case surfaces in Karachi

The 34-month-old boy belongs to union council 2 in Keamari


Press Release November 20, 2015
PHOTO: AFP

KARACHI: A 34-month-old boy, Shahab, son of Arsalan, from union council 2 in Keamari, is the second polio case in Karachi this year.

He was hit by the polio virus on November 1, and, according to the parents, the boy had received polio vaccines during some of the campaigns. However, the family admitted that they did not vaccinate the child on a few occasions because 'he was sick'. Apparently, the boy has low immunity against the polio virus and further investigations are going on.

This is the second case from Karachi this year with the first being reported from Gulberg union council 8 in October. This takes the total cases of polio in Pakistan to 41, with six from the province of Sindh. These are two from Karachi, two from Dadu, one from Sukkur and one from Qambar.

Last year, there were 30 cases from Sindh including 23 from Karachi. Despite significant improvement, a lot of work has to be done as there are many issues affecting the full coverage of all the children during polio campaigns. The missing of children by teams, refusals and 'not available at home' children are causing continued polio virus circulation.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21th, 2015.

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