LAKKI MARWAT, Jan 5: A fresh polio case has been detected in the district and a laboratory report has confirmed that an infant in Mohallah Michenkhel locality of Lakki city is infected with poliovirus, an official of district health department told Dawn on Saturday.

The new case has raised the number of polio cases to three in 2012 in the district, the official said and explained that the case was recorded in last year’s data because the child’s stool sample was taken in November last year.

Sources said that 11-month-old Mohammad Shehzad, son of Mohammad Sadiq, suffered from weakness in arms, legs and neck muscles. He was referred to a child specialist in Peshawar by a doctor in Lakki city. The child, however, did not recover.

A health official said that a local resident brought the child’s health condition into the notice of tehsil polio monitor Damsaz Khan, who reported the matter to officials concerned.

He said that stool sample of Shehzad was collected on November 30 last year and the diagnosis in laboratory confirmed that he was hit by poliovirus.

“The affected Shehzad has received doses in over seven rounds of anti-polio campaigns,” the official said while quoting the child’s mother. The fresh case recorded in last year’s data has raised the number of polio cases in the district to three.

Mohallah Michenkhel of Lakki city is situated in the high-risk urban union council-II for recording over 140 polio refusal cases and majority of its population consisted of nomad families. The official said that under quick response strategy the health department would carry out routine immunisation in union council-II and other parts of Lakki city.