Another polio case emerges in Balochistan

QUETTA: The polio emergency operation center Pakistan has reported one more polio case from Balochistan on Saturday, taking the provincial tally figure for this year to 15.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), a 17-month-old girl was affected by the virus in Chaman. Her samples were collected on 5th and 6th June.

The children infected with the crippling disease has never been administered the anti-polio vaccine, said the officials. Health officials reported two polio cases from Sindh and Balochistan on 21st June.

Last week, the federal government had decided to launch a three-day special anti-polio campaign from 20th July after the country so far recorded 58 cases of the disabling disease during the ongoing year.

Read more: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reports another four polio cases

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by the poliovirus mostly affecting children under the age of five. It invades the nervous system and causes paralysis or even death.

Unfortunately, Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan and Nigeria, affected by poliovirus. The fresh polio cases have surfaced at a time when all the vaccination campaigns were suspended due to the COVID-19 threat.