Another polio case has been confirmed in the country, this time from South Waziristan, taking the number of total cases reported this year to 19, it has been reported on Friday. As per the official sources, a six-month-old child in South Waziristan has been found infected with poliovirus, becoming the first child from South Waziristan to be infected with the virus this year. Earlier, a polio case had been reported from South Waziristan in June 2020. Besides, 16 polio cases have so far been reported from North Waziristan and two from Lakki Marwat this year. The polio case from South Waziristan had been confirmed by Pakistan Polio Laboratory and the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad. On the occasion, spokesperson for the polio programme said that eradicating poliovirus in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was a priority. “Under a new strategy, polio vaccine is being administered to the children through injections,” he added. “Due to the floods, the polio campaign did not take place in 23 districts of Balochistan and Sindh,” he stated. “The next polio campaign will be started in October next,” he declared.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP