PESHAWAR: Two new polio cases have been detected in Pakistan on Friday. Health officials while confirming the new cases have said that the cases were reported in North Waziristan.
A statement issued by the National Emergency operation Center for Polio Eradication said that after the two new cases the number of polio cases reported in the country this year reached 6.
“The new cases have been reported from tehsil Mir Ali,” the health officials said, adding that samples taken from two 18-month-old babies had tested positive for the poliovirus.
One case was reported from Union Council-2 and the other from Union Council-7. These were the fourth and fifth cases of the poliovirus to be reported from the tehsil.
North Waziristan District has fast become a hotspot for polio with all six cases reported in 2022, confirmed from this particular district.
Health officials said that they had detected the Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1) in the stool of an 18-month-old girl and that of an 18-month-old boy after they had displayed initial symptoms of polio, the onset of paralysis, on May 10 and May 11, respectively.
According to a preliminary report, both cases showed that the children had never received vaccination during the routine immunization drives for the poliovirus after their family turned away vaccinators. However, health officials that the children had been administered some oral poliovirus (OPV) doses during other polio campaigns.
A detailed investigation into why the children contracted the virus is underway, officials said.
With Friday’s confirmation, it takes the global tally of wild polio cases so far this year to seven, the statement added, noting that six of them have been from Pakistan.
