KARACHI: In a situation drawing mixed reaction, the provincial health authorities on Wednesday got confirmation of the city’s 23rd polio case and in the same breath they were excited to see that their volunteers had covered almost 99 per cent of immunisation target in 11 ‘sensitive’ union councils blamed for all the polio cases in town.

The National Institute of Health in Islamabad late on Tuesday confirmed to the provincial authorities that the samples they had received three weeks ago of a 14-month-old child tested positive and she was another victim of the crippling disease.

Officials said the girl’s family resided in Qasba Colony of SITE Town.

They said Nazra, a daughter of Sher Zaman, a Pakhtun family from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, had been vaccinated half a dozen times, but she was denied routine immunisation.

The officials suspected the girl might have deficient level of immunity that failed to prevent the poliovirus.

Officials in Sindh said most cases in Karachi belonged to the Pakhtun children whose families had migrated to Karachi.

Meanwhile, officials in the provincial health department said they had succeeded in covering up to 99 per cent of around 250,000 children in 11 high-risk union councils, which produced all the cases in the city.

They included UCs 4, 5 and 8 of Gadap, Kunwari Colony, SITE Town, UC-2 of Baldia, UC-7 Tori Bangash of Orangi, UCs 1 and 2 of Landhi, UC-2 of Liaquatabad and UC Rerhi of Bin Qasim.

“We have covered 99 per cent of the total target population of children aged less than five years, which is a huge achievement itself,” said Dr Zafar Ijaz, director health, Karachi, while speaking to Dawn.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2014