Islamabad - Refuting various reports appearing in media regarding two suspected polio cases in Sargodha, the health ministry Saturday clarified that it was a case of cerebral palsy not polio. Both children were examined thoroughly by a team comprising officials of district health department and World Health Organisation (WHO).
     It was concluded that this was a case of cerebral palsy which is a congenital defect and unrelated to polio, said a statement. It added that there is a system of confirmation of polio cases which requires a sample to be tested in the Regional Reference Laboratory in Islamabad which confirms if the sample contained polio virus or otherwise.
The number of Polio cases as of 11th April 2015 stands at 21. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 8 cases, FATA, 6 cases, Sindh, 4, and Balochistan 3 cases. No case has so far been reported from the Punjab province. The ministry of national health services, regulations and coordination requested that prior to carrying a report authentic data on polio cases may be confirmed with the ministry or emergency operations centres in provincial capitals.