Five more children fall prey to polio in Pakistan, three in Sindh

KARACHI: A day after Pakistani authorities assured the world of utilising maximum resources and energy to eradicate the crippling disease of polio from its soil, five more polio cases have been reported from different areas of the country, including three from Sindh and two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the total number of polio cases this year to 91, officials said on Friday.

“Five new Wild Polio Virus 1 (WPV1) cases, one each from Shaheed Benazirabad, Karachi, Jamshoro, Lakki Marwat and Bannu have been confirmed today. With these five new cases, the total number of children affected with polio virus has increased to 91 in the country”, said Dr. Rana Muhammad Safdar, National Coordinator of Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Islamabad, while Talking to The News on Friday.

Officials said a 12-year-old boy from the Union Council Gabopat, Keamari area of Karachi, was the latest victim of polio virus, who had received several Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) doses but added that they were further investigating the case.

Similarly, a three-year-old girl from the Tehsil Sakrand of the Shaheed Benazirabad town of Sindh had also been tested positive for polio, officials said and added that a two-and-a-half-year-old girl from the Tehsil Kotri of district Jamshoro was the third victim of polio virus on Friday.

With three new polio cases from Sindh, the number of polio cases in the province reached 13 with six from Karachi, two each from Hyderabad and Jamshoro and one each from Larkana, Sujawal and Shaheed Benazirabad.

On the other hand, a three-month-old girl from the Tehsil Serae Naurang of District Lakki Marwat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also tested positive for wild polio virus 1, officials said adding that a 10-month-old boy from the Tehsil Wazir of District Bannu was the 5th victim of polio virus, who was tested positive on Friday in Pakistan.

National EOC Coordinator Dr. Rana Muhammad Safdar said it was a sad day for Pakistan when five more children fell prey to the dreaded polio virus in the country but vowed to eradicate the crippling disease from Pakistan very soon, saying they were planning to create a national consensus and revival of one team to defeat the menace for once and ever.

“I would urge parents to cooperate with the authorities and instead of paying heed to rumours, vaccinate their children against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases”, he said.