Fresh cases from KP take polio tally to 111 in country

PESHAWAR: With four new polio cases from Lakki Marwat and Tank districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial tally of cases has mounted to 79 and the country level cases have jumped to 111 in the current year so far.

According to officials, the wild polioviruses have been isolated from a stool sample of three children hailing from Sarai Naurang in Lakki Marwat and a baby boy from Tank district. The National Institute of Health Islamabad (NIH) has confirmed all four cases as polio. All the affected children have a history of non-vaccination.

In his comments on new polio cases in the province, EOC Coordinator Abdul Basit, who is currently on a campaign monitoring visit to Bannu, Lakki and North Waziristan districts, said that four new children have been paralysed for life due to refusal. He said the virus is present in the environment that is hitting unvaccinated children.

"Though the vaccine is available to save children from the disease, many parents are not vaccinating their children due to misconceptions and are responsible for the disability of the children," he added. He said the only viable solution to the problem was to vaccinate children under five years of age in every campaign as only repeated-dose can protect the child from permanent disability and stop the virus circulation in the environment.