ISLAMABAD - After remaining quiet for a while, the high-risk district of Quetta has reported the country’s 23rd polio case this year.
Case count for Quetta has now risen to 3 during the year. The 23 months old Mehrama d/o Agha Abdul Karim is resident of Sabzal road, Muslimabad, area of Quetta.
According to details, the child has not received any dose of polio vaccine. The case is of chronic refusal based on misconception. It is very unfortunate that children have to suffer disability due to negligence of parents.
The Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring & Coordination Cell has written to Secretary Health, Balochistan asking him to direct the concerned to engage the refusal family and motivate them in light of teachings of Islam on duties towards the families.
Data shows that there are a large number of unvaccinated children in the area of the new polio case and the authorities in Balochistan have been asked to take urgent measures to ensure that no child is missed during the forthcoming land stinting July 16, 2012.
Detection of the new polio case from Quetta also highlights the fact that the start of the summer and monsoon season when the poliovirus starts spreading fast and innocent Mehrama is the first victim of the virus this season.
Though, the country has done better than last year since less than fifty percent cases have been reported so far as compared to 2011, any case occurring is a cause of concern as the world is looking towards Pakistan for complete eradication of the disease. Of the 23 cases reported this year, 11 are from FATA, 4 from Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, 3 from Balochistan, 3 from Sindh and 2 for Punjab.