Four new cases of polio came to surface on Friday setting the alarm bells ringing and causing deep concerns among the health authorities. The total number of crippling disease in the country has risen to 84 in the current year.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Polio Eradication Programme Manager Dr Altaf Bosan confirmed 4 new cases of polio. He said, “The country has seen 4 more cases of polio and they were reported in Okara, Thatta and North Waziristan.”
“Two and a half years old Ghulam Hussain is from Thatta, 8-month-old Um-e-Fatima from Okara, 15-month old Shabir Ullah, and 12-month-old Adil are from Waziristan. And yes the total number of polio case has risen to 84,” he added.
The highest number of cases (34) has been reported in Balochistan while 26 cases in Federally Administered Tribal Areas, 15 cases in Sindh, 7 in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, 1 case in Gilgit-Baltistan. Punjab reported its first case this year and it had been a polio-free province until just a few days ago.
Pakistan is one of the only four countries in the world where polio not only still exists but the number of polio cases are continuously rising as seen during the last two years.
The addition of these 4 latest cases has taken Pakistan’s total polio count to 84 so far this year.
Other polio endemic countries are India, Afghanistan and Nigeria but they all have succeeded in controlling the virus within restricted geographical locations.
In Pakistan, on the contrary, cases are appearing in random geographic locations, and except for one case, all belong to the P-1 strain, which is regarded as the most dangerous and lethal of all.
