ISLAMABAD: Polio has crippled another child in Pakistan, raising the total to 49 confirmed cases this year, health authorities announced on Thursday.
The new case was detected in Jaffarabad, Balochistan, marking the district’s first confirmed infection and highlighting the virus’s persistence across the country.
Genetic sequencing of the virus sample, conducted by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, linked it to a WPV1 strain detected in Pishin, Balochistan, in April, indicating active transmission within the province. Currently, Balochistan is the most affected province, with 24 cases reported to date.