Staff Reporter :
A 34-month old child was tested positive for the crippling virus in the Pishin district. The samples of the minor child were collected on August 19th by the health department. The laboratory report confirmed that the child has contracted the virus, health sources said.
Balochistan reports new polio case
The fresh victim of the poliovirus belongs to the Union Council Killi Alizai Pishin. Family members of the victim had refused to provide polio drops to their children, they said. The number of cases rises to 17 after this fresh case.
Last year, Balochistan had confirmed 12 cases of poliovirus. The anti-polio campaign was suspended for four months in the aftermath of the outbreak of coronavirus. Rashid Razzaq, the Coordinator Emergency Operation Cell that deals with polio revealed that environmental samples were found in Quetta, Pishin, and Killa Abdullah districts.
Killa Abdullah, Pishin, and Quetta are considered to be high-risk districts regarding the crippling virus. The number of parents refusing polio drops in these districts is stated to be thousands. Officials have termed chronic refusals on the part of parents as the underlying reason behind increasing cases of the poliovirus.
Despite regular engagement of religious scholars, any breakthrough in terms of decreasing the number of refusals is yet to be made. Balochistan had reported the highest number of polio cases i.e. 73 during the year 2011 and 22 of them were reported from Killa Abdullah district that borders with neighboring Afghanistan.
Anti polio campaigns are underway for the last more than three decades. However, the crippling virus is yet to be eradicated from the province. Resources are being pumped with thousands of polio workers and volunteers participating in every polio drive, but, the desired results are yet to be achieved.
Balochistan reports new polio case
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where the crippling virus still exists.
