ISLAMABAD: While the polio programme has been making efforts to eradicate the virus of the crippling disease and international health organisations have been keeping an eye on performance of Pakistan, the third polio case in the country has been reported during the current week.

The recent case has been reported from Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtun­khwa province, where a 12-month-old girl has been infected with the virus. Earlier, during the current week, two polio cases were reported from Lahore on consecutive days.

An official of the Polio Virology Laboratory at the National Institute of Health said that child was a resident of Sheikh Fareed Baba, Havaid Landidak Union Council, Bannu tehsil.

“According to her parents, the child had been suffering from fever for two days. She was taken to a local health centre where she was given an injection on the right gluteal muscle on April 19. The child developed weakness in right lower limb on the same day,” the official said. “She was taken to a doctor on April 22 and notified as a suspect case of polio. It was revealed that the child had not received even a single dose of polio vaccine during immunisation campaigns.”

The Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio, Babar Bin Atta, said that they had received a report about the child afflicted with polio.

Pakistan is one of the two last countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio cases are being reported. This year so far, 11 polio cases have been reported in the country; three each from Lahore and Bannu and one each from Karachi, Hangu, Waziristan, Bajour and Khyber tribal district.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2019