Three children from Balochistan and one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been confirmed to have wild poliovirus type 1, after which the number of children infected with the virus has reached 37 across the country.
It was further said that a girl from Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also tested positive for poliovirus.
Officials said that out of 37 this year, 20 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 10 from Sindh, 5 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
He said that the genetic sequencing of the cases is being done, adding that polio cases have been reported earlier this year in Nushki and Lucky Marwat, however, one case each has been reported in Chaman and Pishin.
Officials claimed that in 2023 and early 2024, Balochistan and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faced difficulties in the fight against the polio virus, as local protests, insecurity and community boycotts halted or postponed anti-polio campaigns. were done, leaving a large number of children who could be infected with the virus.
Nushki district is located on the border with Afghanistan and is adjacent to the districts of Quetta and Mastung, where environmental samples have been tested positive for wild poliovirus type 1 in recent months, while Lakki Marwat has also reported several positive environmental samples recently. .
A nationwide anti-polio campaign will be launched from October 28, in which more than 45 million children under the age of 5 years will be vaccinated against polio.
It should be noted that another case of polio virus was reported in the country on October 14, after which the total number of polio cases this year increased to 33. I am the 33rd case.
Balochistan Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar had said that it is very difficult to eradicate polio with the help of only 37% vaccine, polio cannot be eradicated from the province without increasing the number of vaccines.
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