ISLAMABAD: As many as five more cases of polio have been reported from Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bringing the tally for the year 2019 to 128.

Sharing details of the new cases, an official of the National Institute of Health (NIH) said that two cases each were reported from Sindh and Balochistan and one from KP.

“Cases of Sindh have been reported from districts of Qambar and Mirpur­khas. They are: a 24-month-old female, who is a resident of Qambar, and a 48-month-old female from Mirpurkhas. The Mirpur­khas child did not receive a single dose of the polio vaccine,” he said.

“In Balochistan, two male children have been infected with the poliovirus. A 16-month-old child, who is a resident of Jaffarabad district, and the other is a 70-month-old child from Killa Abdullah district,” he said.

The child from KP affected by the poliovirus is an 18-month-old male from Lakki Marwat district, the official added.

“While we are in the year 2020, for about another one month more cases can be added to the total number of cases for 2019 as the date of collection of a sample is considered for placing a case in a certain year, rather than the date of confirmation of the case,” he said.

The official said that the incubation period of the poliovirus was almost three weeks; so cases were confirmed almost three weeks after the date of getting the samples. “It is quite possible that in the next few weeks, we may confirm cases for the years 2019 and 2020 simultaneously,” he added.

There were 12 polio cases reported in 2018 and eight in 2017.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2020