Second case of polio detected in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: An eleven-year-old girl has been paralyzed by the wild poliovirus type-1 in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, making it the second polio case of the year in Afghanistan and third polio case globally, officials at National Polio Laboratory at National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad said on Sunday.

“A new case of Type-1 wild poliovirus has been reported from the Kot district of Nangarhar province of East region of Afghanistan where a 132-month old female child was paralyzed by the poliovirus. The child had several doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV),” an official of the NIH Islamabad told The News.

It is the second polio case detected in Afghanistan during this week as earlier a four-year-old boy from the same province had been paralyzed by the Wild Poliovirus, officials said adding that first case of wild poliovirus had been detected in Pakistan this year.

Sharing the details of the second polio case in Afghanistan, officials said the child hails from Qalamwal, Said Ahmad Khil village of Kot district of Nangahar province and was reported from Nangarhar University Hospital where she was admitted.

“The child was later taken to Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar and then to Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar for further treatment. The child has received three doses of OPV through routine immunization and over 7 doses in SIAs but the date of last dose could not be ascertained as child is more than 11 years of age,” the official added.

Commenting on the detection of two polio cases in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan this month, polio eradication initiative officials said three of the positive environmental samples in Pakistan were genetically linked to the poliovirus found in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, which means that virus is travelling between Afghanistan and different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.