KARACHI, April 28: An 11-year-old girl in Karachi tested positive for polio on Monday, bringing to four the number of cases detected this year in the country — all from Sindh.

The tally of polio cases over the past six months has now reached 18.

One case was reported in Punjab in September last year, four in the NWFP, two in Balochistan and one in Fata, all in December. The earlier three cases of polio in Sindh were detected in Hyderabad, Nawabshah and Sukkur.

Of the 32 polio cases detected last year, 12 were from Sindh.

Officials claimed that the virus was brought to Karachi from other parts of the country as well as from Afghanistan.

In the latest case detected in North Karachi, the onset of paralysis in the girl was reported in the first week of April. The girl suffered from asymmetric paralysis and rapid progression of the disease. She used to receive three doses of polio vaccine in routine and five doses during the special immunisation campaigns against polio.

Dr H.B. Memon, national manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, told Dawn that the detection of four cases this year reflected poor vaccination management in Sindh. “This could be attributed to rapid and unchecked influx into Sindh, uncertainty and a sense of instability among field workers because of frequent transfers and postings of key health officials.”

He said the EPI had already requested the federal health ministry to link vaccination cards of children up to five years with the issuance of national registration form (B), compulsory production of vaccination cards at the time of admission of children in schools and penalisation of parents failing to get their children vaccinated against preventable diseases.

In Karachi, each polio immunisation campaign covers about 2,245,243 children. Its operational cost is estimated at about Rs7.3 million. Additional expenses include Rs500,000 for orientation of over 6,000 teams, Rs1 million for social mobilisation and Rs1 million for mobility support.