About 192 polio cases were reported in the country last year, nine of them in Punjab.—AP photo

LAHORE: An 18month-old boy, who was diagnosed as a first polio victim of the current year, died here a few days ago.

'My son died at Mayo Hospital after a week of hospitalisation,' Banara Khan told Dawn on Monday.

The death which sent shockwaves through the community may be a cause of alarm for the Punjab administration already battling the dengue disease which has afflicted some people even in winter.

The health authorities are reported to have hushed up the polio case and also concealed medical reports related to the boy's death.

The boy, Mohammad Bashir, was the youngest of eight children of Banara Khan who lives in Darbar Madolay Shah Colony in the city'sShahdara area.

The National Institute of Health had notified the case in a report after laboratory analysis of blood samples of the boy.

Banara Khan said he had taken his son to Mayo Hospital a few weeks ago with high fever and doctors diagnosed the illness as polio.

The hospital reported the case to the health authorities who sent blood samples for analysis.

A source said the Health Department had directed the Mayo Hospital administration not to make public the process of treatment of the boy, detection of virus and his death, to avoid an adverse government reaction.

About 192 polio cases were reported in the country last year, nine of them in Punjab.

Opinion

Editorial

Moving forward
Updated 29 Sep, 2023

Moving forward

It is hoped that the ECP followed the set rules diligently while demarcating constituency boundaries.
Pipeline in stasis
Updated 30 Sep, 2023

Pipeline in stasis

If finding dollars to fund the scheme is difficult, alternative currencies can be used.
Playing in India
Updated 29 Sep, 2023

Playing in India

WITH visa issues resolved, and after slight alterations in travel plans, Pakistan’s cricket team finally touched...
Accruing more debt
Updated 28 Sep, 2023

Accruing more debt

We are in midst of the worst, longest economic crisis because of lavish lifestyles of powerful interests.
Israeli normalisation
28 Sep, 2023

Israeli normalisation

OVER the past few weeks, there have been many reports prophesising the impending normalisation of ties between Saudi...
Kandhkot tragedy
28 Sep, 2023

Kandhkot tragedy

THE tragic incident that unfolded yesterday in Sindh’s Kandhkot tehsil, leading to the deaths of at least nine...