Polio strikes in Karachi, cripples five-year old boy in Malir

KARACHI: The Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) in Pakistan Monday reported the first polio case of the current year in Karachi, saying a five-year old boy has been crippled by Wild Polio Virus 1 (WPV1) in Muzaffarabad Colony, Landhi, in District Malir.

With the new polio case, the number of polio cases in Sindh has jumped to 19 and 57 in Pakistan. “Five-year-old Muhammad Hasnain, son of Muhammad Ibrahim, a resident of Muzaffarabad Colony, Landhi, in District Malir, has been crippled by Wild Polio Virus 1 (WPV1). It is the first polio case in Karachi and now the number of polio cases has reached 19 in Sindh and 57 in entire Pakistan,” an official of the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Sindh said on Monday.

EOC officials said the 60-months male child in Karachi was diagnosed with the polio virus after his stool samples were sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) following developing weakness in his left upper and lower limb. According to the parents, the EOC officials said, the child had received Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) on multiple occasions while the routine immunisation card shows zero doses of OPV while he had an injectable polio vaccine. Further investigation on the claims was underway, they added.