Balochistan reports 2 new cases of poliovirus
Health Desk:
QUETTA: Balochistan has reported 2 new cases of poliovirus on Saturday morning. A four-year-old child tested positive for the crippling virus, sources in the health department said. The child belongs to the Chiltan town area of Quetta. Samples of the child collected a few days back and today laboratory report proved the child contracted the virus, they said.
Health sources informed that a 15-month old baby in Balochistan’s Pishin district also contracted the virus. Samples of the child collected a few days back. A laboratory test confirmed the minor has fallen victim to the crippling virus, they said.
Polio cases rise to 23 in Balochistan this year
With the confirmation of two new cases, the number of cases reached 23 in Balochistan during the current year 2020. Most of the cases reported from Quetta, Pishin, and Killa Abdullah districts of the province. The Emergency Operation Cell (EOC) had already declared the three districts sensitive regarding the poliovirus.
Repeated anti-polio campaigns conducted in all three districts to eradicate the crippling virus. However, the virus is yet to be eradicated. Health department sources revealed the number of chronic refusals in Killa Abdullah, Pishin, and Quetta is in the thousands. The government in collaboration with UNICEF has formed committees comprising veteran religious scholars to convince the parents refusing polio drops.
Over 2.6m children under the age of 5 years provided drops
In Balochistan, the health department in collaboration with UNICEF recently provided anti-polio drops to over 2.6m children under the age of five years. The anti-polio campaign conducted in all 33 districts of Balochistan after a four-month suspension in the aftermath of the global outbreak of COVID19. Increasing polio cases across Balochistan has put the lives of children under the age of five years at peril.
Balochistan reports 2 new cases of poliovirus
