Total cases in province rise to seven
Javed Khan
PESHAWAR
The Regional Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health Islamabad on Tuesday confirmed that poliovirus had been detected in a 29-month-old girl in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to an official handout, a 29-month-old girl from Ganderi, Union Council in Nowshera District has been confirmed to have contracted the virus.
“Stool samples from the infected girl were sent to the laboratory in Islamabad, where the polio virus was identified following detailed analysis,” the statement said.
This year, six polio cases had previously been reported in the province, including two from Kohat and one each from the districts of Mohmand, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, and Lakki Marwat.
With the new case, the total number of polio cases reported in KP has risen to seven, contributing to a national total of 42 cases.
Mohammad Zeeshan Khan, Deputy Coordinator of the Provincial Emergency Operations Center, expressed regret over the persistence of the virus despite ongoing efforts to combat polio, resulting in another child facing lifelong disability.
The country recorded only six cases in 2023, after 20 in 2022 and just one in 2021.
He emphasized that eradicating polio is a national emergency and that the government is committed to this goal.
Khan stated that the government’s administrative machinery, law enforcement agencies, and health department are working collaboratively to eliminate the disease and protect children’s futures.
He reiterated that the only way to eliminate this deadly disease is through vaccination, urging parents to ensure their children under five receive polio drops during every anti-polio campaign.
He also called on the public, especially parents, to actively participate in the ongoing anti-polio campaign and get their children vaccinated. Khan encouraged all segments of society, including scholars and medical professionals, to dispel misconceptions about polio vaccination and advocate for children receiving their shots during each campaign.
The provincial government has launched an ambitious drive to curb the menace of poliovirus from the province.
On Tuesday, two cops guarding the polio vaccination team were killed by unknown assailants in tribal district Orakzai, a major challenge for the provincial government to tackle the crippling disease.
It may be pertinent to mention here that Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic.
