PESHAWAR, Sept 7: Polio continues to pose a serious threat to children in the NWFP and Fata and a fresh case has been reported from Bajaur Agency. So far three polio cases have been detected this year, according to officials. A 15-month-old Attaullah son of Mohammad Hussain of village Metokala, Bajaur Agency, who has been diagnosed as confirmed polio patient, had got eight doses of anti-polio drops, officials said.

Initially the child had developed fever, diarrhoea and respiratory tract infection for which he was taken to the Agency headquarter hospitals in Bajuar Agency, officials said.

“The doctors at the hospitals gave him multiple injections two days before his paralysis and later the doctors confirmed a case of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP)”, said officials.

The child was diagnosed as positive despite having had eight doses of the vaccines during the National Immunisation Days (NIDs), while no dose had been administered to him by the routine vaccination staff.

Besides, he has a history of gastroenteritis for the last few months and no travel history had been recorded of the child’s family one month before developing paralysis. None of his relatives had visited the family for the past couple of weeks, officials said.

The boy lived in a house which happened to be inaccessible to the routine vaccinators, due to which he had no routine vaccination.

This was also confirmed by the officials that two localities had been missed in the same area during the previous NID.

The village is located in an area where cross border movement was a usual affair.

“We suspect that the case could be result of the cross border movement, because Afghanistan has recorded four polio cases this year, who belong to the provinces located on Pakistan- Afghanistan border”, an official said.

He said that ineffectiveness of the anti-polio drops had become a big problem, saying that a 10-month-old baby, Tasleema, daughter of Waris Khan, of Tank district, was declared a confirmed case of polio early this year despite having three doses of anti-polio vaccine.

Another child, Bilal, son of Mohammad Khan, of Peshawar district, diagnosed as positive for polio in January, had been given six doses of the vaccine.

Last year, eight polio cases were detected in the NWFP, compared to 32 cases in 2003, the officials said. A local paediatrician said that children suffering from diarrhoea, malnutrition and immunity problems should either be treated before they are administered vaccines or be put in the category of high-risk groups.