ISLAMABAD: Officials announced on Tuesday that the Qila Saifullah district of Balochistan has recorded the 46th poliovirus case of the year.
Dawn was informed by a representative of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication in Islamabad that a male youngster had been found to have wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).
This is Qila Saifullah’s second poliovirus case of the year. Balochistan has reported 23 cases thus far, followed by Sindh (12), KP (9), Punjab (1), and Islamabad (1).
“The sample taken from the child is currently undergoing genetic sequencing,” the official continued.
After multiple sewage samples taken from the area tested positive for WPV1, the case from Qila Saifullah was reported.
The two markers of the virus’s presence in a region are positive sewage samples and documented cases.
Two more districts that had previously been immune to the virus were found to have it last week: Noshki in Balochistan and Mianwali in Punjab.
“This year, Balochistan is the most affected province,” he stated, adding that the province’s vaccination effort had encountered several difficulties in the preceding months as a result of demonstrations and militant attacks.
“The harm that children endure from missed vaccination opportunities is demonstrated by this high number of cases,” he stated.
Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have reported three new poliovirus cases so far in November.
