ISLAMABAD: Polio­virus has all but gone out of control in Pakistan as cases are being reported pretty frequently, with a child from Balochistan’s Chagai area becoming the latest victim of the crippling disease on Wednesday.

The five-year-old girl took the number of cases so far reported in the country this year to 43.

According to an official of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, the detection of the 43rd wild poliovirus type-1 case has been confirmed.

“This is the first polio case from Chagai and the 43rd case from Pakistan at large this year. So far, 22 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, seven from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the child is underway,” he said.

It is worth mentioning that an Oct 28-Nov 3 campaign is currently going on in the country with an aim to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five.

“It is critical for parents to open their doors to vaccinators during this nationwide polio vaccination campaign and ensure that all children receive two drops of the oral polio vaccine to keep them protected from the devastating effects of polio,” the official said.

Amid the vaccination drive across all 36 districts of Balochistan, Chagai repo­rted the current year’s first case.

Saleem Shahid in Quetta also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2024