Polio Count Raises to 18 as a New Case Gets Reported in KPK
by Hamna Bano
SHARES
Southern KPK: A three-year-old boy has become the latest victim of the polio virus. The health officials say that this new case has taken the polio count to 18 in Pakistan.
On Monday, 12 September 2022 the National Institute of Health said in a statement that a child from Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been paralyzed as a result of Poliovirus type-1 induced in the body.
This year, North Waziristan has reported a total of 16 to 18 Polio Virus cases, with other two detected in the areas of Lakki Marawat and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A number of polio campaigns are on the rise with this increasing number of cases. Till today, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries left yet to be declared polio-free. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, “To be officially considered polio-free, a country must show an absence of wild poliovirus transmission for at least three consecutive years.”
With that, some of the polio samples collected from the sewage water of Karachi have detected the presence of the deadly wild poliovirus last week. The health minister of Sindh Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho said that, “Every (environmental) sample that comes out positive is considered a case as it is possible that the virus is circulating within the community.”
“Unless the environment samples are negative and the campaign quality improves, we will keep seeing the spread of polio in other provinces of Pakistan … unfortunately now we are back to square one, and we have to work as hard as we did before to ensure the removal of poliovirus,” added Pechuho.
With that, the Chief of Army Staff has also appreciated Bill Gates for his kind cooperation in the Polio Drive.
One-third of Pakistan is already suffering from a serious health crisis after the catastrophic floods. So, serious steps need to be taken in order to stop Polio cases rise.
