KARACHI: This year’s second polio case in the country was reported by the health authorities in Sindh on Wednesday.

According to the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) (for eradication of polio) in Sindh, a seven-month-old girl, daughter of a labourer, residing in the union council of Chambar, district Tando Allahyar, was diagnosed with polio which affected her right lower limb.

Her family’s claim that the girl had been vaccinated thrice against polio would be investigated, they said.

A spokesperson of the Sindh EOC said a long gap in door-to-door campaigns last year had created a large pool of vulnerable children.

However, he pointed out, the national and provincial health authorities were striving to reverse this trend and eliminate polio. The first step was last month’s successful national immunisation day and now areas with recent detection were being targeted in a special response round which started from Jan 13.

These efforts would be followed up by two national immunisation days in February and April.

“The current risk to our children is very real and while it is our job to deliver these vaccines at the doorstep, caregivers must also step up and protect their children through vaccinations.

“The national and Sindh EOC urge parents to ensure immunisation of their children both in routine as well as the special campaigns planned by the programme over the next few months,” says a press release.

The country’s firs polio case of 2020 has recently surfaced from Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2020