KARACHI: As the provincial health department again had to defer its polio campaign in the city’s three districts until after Eid due to insufficient security cover, Sindh on Thursday received the confirmation of another polio case from the National Institute of Health Islamabad (NIH) — an 18-month-old boy — again from Gadap Town, bringing the provincial tally to 18 so far this year, officials said.

The officials in the provincial health department identified the boy as Awais, a son of Lal Badshah, whose samples had been sent to the NIH four weeks ago.

The boy’s Pakhtun family resided in Faqir Goth of Union Council 4 of Gadap Town and originally hailed from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

“The boy is also among those children whose families refused to inoculate them against polio,” said a senior official in the health department wishing not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media on behalf of the ministry.

The authorities had to postpone the nationwide polio campaign in the city’s Korangi, Malir and East districts until after Eid for want of security. The south, west and central districts have already been covered and at present the volunteers have been assigned to cover 14 high-risk union councils of which three fall in Gadap.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2014