An 18-month-old child has been diagnosed with polio in Chaman, Balochistan, health department sources said on Wednesday.

The polio virus was found in Ahmed Shah, a resident of Mehmoodabad, in the area of Chaman. The child reportedly had not received polio drops because of his parent's refusal.

This is the fourth case of polio in the country and second in the province this year, according to the information available on Endpolio Pakistan. Two cases were reported in the province from Quetta and Kila Abdulla last year.

Earlier, the Technical Advisory Group on polio had expressed hope for polio to be eradicated in the province by May this year. However, environmental samples in Chaman found evidence of polio virus in the vicinity a few months ago.

Polio cases have been on a decline in the country with 54 and 20 cases reported in the years 2015 and 2016 respectively, as opposed to 306 cases in 2014.