Another polio case emerges in North Waziristan, tally jumps to 7

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday reported seventh polio case of the year 2022 as a minor girl from North Waziristan was left paralysed by wild poliovirus, ARY News reported quoting the health department.

Health officials confirmed that an 18-month-old baby girl, a resident of Mir Ali, tested positive for the virus. The overall tally of this year’s poliovirus cases has risen to 7.

It is learnt that the said child was not administered anti-polio drops during the drive against the crippling disease.

After staying in a polio-free country for almost 15 months, Pakistan has reported seven cases of poliovirus in 2022 so far. Almost all cases have been reported in North Waziristan.

On April 22, Pakistan reported its first poliovirus case in 15 months. Before that, the country had remained polio-free since Jan 27 last year.

A five-day anti-polio campaign recently concluded across Pakistan. The poliovirus drive began on May 23.

During the campaign, approximately 43.3 million children under the age of five years had been administered the anti-polio vaccine.

Read more: Pakistan reports third polio case

Around 340,000 frontline workers took part in the campaign to administer vaccines to the children at their doorsteps.

Earlier, inaugurating the campaign, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had assured that the government would take all measures to eradicate this crippling disease from the country.