Health Ministry confirms third polio case in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Third polio case of the year 2023 was confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Bannu district on Wednesday as Pakistan struggling to get rid of the crippling disease, ARY News reported citing sources at the Ministry of National Health.

The National Polio Laboratory has confirmed, the polio virus found in a child from Bannu district of KP, health ministry sources said. “Polio virus has been confirmed in an 18-month girl at UC Ghora in Bakakhel,” sources added.

In the year 2022, as many as 20 cases of poliovirus were reported across the country. Pakistan was come near to eradication of disease in year 2021 when only one case was reported in the country.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Monday launched a five-day anti-polio vaccination drive targeting around 44 million children across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, he said 350,000 polio workers would participate in the drive to administer anti-polio vaccine to 44 million children aged 0-5 years.

Pakistan registered two polio cases earlier since January, a blow to the goal of eradicating a disease that affects the nervous system and can cause severe paralysis in children.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio continues to threaten the health and well-being of children.