Polio cripples another child in Chagai

The case marks Chagai’s first polio diagnosis this year and brings Balochistan’s overall total to 22

By M. Waqar Bhatti
October 31, 2024
A health worker administers polio drops to a child during a door-to-door vaccination campaign in Karachi on August 7, 2023. — AFP
A health worker administers polio drops to a child during a door-to-door vaccination campaign in Karachi on August 7, 2023. — AFP

ISLAMABAD: Polio crippled another child in the Chagai district of Balochistan, where a 5-year-old girl was paralyzed by the wild poliovirus, bringing the national polio case count to 43 this year.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed the case on Wednesday, highlighting the ongoing challenge Pakistan faces in its fight against polio. 

This case marks Chagai’s first polio diagnosis this year and brings Balochistan’s overall total to 22, making it the province with the highest count, followed by Sindh with 12, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with seven and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

This diagnosis was confirmed just as Pakistan launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign aiming to vaccinate over 45 million children under five. Scheduled from October 28 to November 3, the campaign is part of Pakistan’s continued effort to protect children against polio’s devastating effects, amid a broader initiative to eradicate the disease from one of the last remaining polio-endemic regions in the world.