QUETTA: Polio virus was confirmed in a five-year-old girl in Quetta on Wednesday, bringing the total number of such cases found in Balochistan this year to five.

Officials of the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Balochistan identified the new patient as Gul Afshan.

An EOC spokesperson said the girl’s parents refused to get her vaccinated on religious grounds, adding the chronic refusal case had not been recorded in the tally sheet prepared by the polio teams.

The EOC Balochistan has taken serious notice of the fact that the refusal case had not been reported and launched an investigation into the matter.

“The EOC is closely monitoring the situation and will take every step possible to improve the quality of the campaign,” the spokesperson said.

A senior official said the anti-polio drive had not been launched in Quetta since April. He added that the number of missed children was high and this made the children of the provincial capital vulnerable to the crippling disease.

This is the third case from Quetta and the fifth reported from the province since the beginning of 2015. With this the total number of polio cases reported so far in Pakistan this year has reached 30.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2015

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