–Total number of cases in country at 77, KP leads with 57 victims
PESHAWAR: The total number of polio cases in the country has touched 77 after an infant was tested positive in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The child had received a zero dose for essential immunisation nor did he receive any inactivated polio vaccine.
He said that the only viable solution to the problem is to vaccinate the child in every campaign, as only repeated doses can protect the child from permanent disability and stop the virus circulation. Abdul Basit appealed to the parents not to pay attention to anti-vaccination propaganda.
The EOC report cited “refusals by parents” as the top reason for the scale of the virus’ resurgence witnessed this year.
KP leads the number of polio cases with 57. Sindh followed with eight cases, where the number of cases in Balochistan was seven this year. Only five cases surfaced in Punjab, mostly in its capital Lahore.
One of the reasons is the increased resistance towards vaccination drives and violence against polio workers in the province as compared to the rest of the country.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, last month, had expressed serious concern over the recent spike in polio cases in the country and directed federal and provincial government officials to undertake effective awareness and immunisation campaigns to eliminate the disease.
