Polio cripples another child in Balochistan

Balochistan remains the hardest-hit province this year with 23 cases

By M Waqar Bhatti
November 06, 2024
A vaccinator with kit box, waits for her colleagues, to do an anti-polio campaign in a low-income neighbourhood in Karachi on April 9, 2018. — Reuters
A vaccinator with kit box, waits for her colleagues, to do an anti-polio campaign in a low-income neighbourhood in Karachi on April 9, 2018. — Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Poliovirus has crippled another child in Balochistan, raising the number of total polio cases to 46 in Pakistan this year so far, Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) officials said Tuesday. This is the second confirmed case of polio in Killa Saifullah, a district where multiple environmental samples have also tested positive for the virus.

Balochistan remains the hardest-hit province this year, with 23 cases, followed by Sindh with 12, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa nine and isolated cases in Punjab and Islamabad. The surge in cases highlights virus’s extensive presence across the country, as WPV1 has been detected in 76 districts so far. Health authorities attribute high number of cases in Balochistan to missed vaccination opportunities due to localized protests and security issues that disrupted campaigns in the area.