Polio case detected in Badin
A new polio case was confirmed on Tuesday from the Badin district of Sindh, where one-year-old Alim Khatoon was diagnosed with the virus, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) representative.
Dr Suneel Khowaja confirmed the polio case while talking to journalists and said the infant was affected by the virus a month ago, with her medical reports confirming the same.
The latest case was confirmed by the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, where stool samples of the child had been sent for tests.
The parents of the girl claimed that since her birth she has been regularly administered polio drops.
This is the third polio case from Badin district during the past five years, said health officials. Badin and Sujawal district in Sindh have been declared as sensitive districts.
As one of the three countries in the world where polio remains a threat to date, the WHO last year made it mandatory for all Pakistanis travelling abroad to have at least one dose of the anti-polio vaccine.
2014 was one of the country’s worst in terms of the number of polio cases, with the count reaching 306, marking the first time in almost 14 years that the number exceeded 200.