Staff Reporter:
Another polio case was confirmed in Balochistan’s Killa Abdullah district on Saturday. Sources in emergency operation cell Balochistan told the daily Quetta Voice that the crippling virus was confirmed in a 17-month old minor girl in Chaman tehsil of Killa Abdullah district.
“The minor girl belongs to a refusal family”, they said. The parents of the affected girl had refused to provide anti-polio drops to their children. The samples of the minor girl were collected on June 5 and 6 by the health department. The laboratory report confirmed the crippling virus.
With the confirmation of a fresh polio case, the number of cases reached 15 in Balochistan this year. Last year, Balochistan had reported 12 cases of the poliovirus. Despite three decades of an anti-polio campaign, the crippling virus is yet to be eradicated.
Still, thousands of families in various parts of Balochistan in general and Pishin, Killa Abdullah and Quetta in particular are refusing to provide anti-polio drops to their children. Committees comprising religious scholars, teachers, tribal elites have been formed to convince the parents. However, no major breakthrough has been made so far.
