ISLAMABAD: Just a day after the World Polio Day, Pakistan reported another polio case on Friday, taking this year’s tally to 41.

The new case was reported from Loralai district of Balochistan. Health officials said the patient, a 42-month-old girl, had onset of paralysis on Oct 8. She did not receive any dose during routine immunisation campaigns.

Notably, this was the first case reported from Loralai this year.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in polio cases in recent months as the last case was reported just two days ago on the eve of the Polio Day which is observed to renew efforts for the eradication of the virus of crippling disease.

Nationwide campaign to vaccinate over 45m children set to start on 28th

An official of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, confirmed the detection of the new case.

“The lab confirmed the detection of type-1 wild poliovirus in a child from Loralai District of Balochsitan. This is the first polio case from Loralai and the 41st case from Pakistan at large this year. So far, 21 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, six from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad,” he said.

“Balochistan is facing an intense trans-mission of WPV1 this year. While this is the first case from Loralai of the year, four consecutive sewage samples have tested positive from the district since June, indicating that the virus is circulating there,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Polio Programme is launching a nationwide vaccination campaign from Oct 28 to vaccinate more than 45 million children. “It is critical for parents to open their door to vaccinators during this drive and ensure that all children in their care received two drops of the crucial oral polio vaccine to keep them protected from the devastating effects of polio,” the PM’s focal person for polio eradication said.

Saleem Shahid in Quetta also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2024