Peshawar - A polio case has been reported from Peshawar after a gap of four years.
A four-and-a-half years old child from Sufaid Dheri area of Peshawar has been diagnosed with poliovirus. According to the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), it is the first case of polio in Peshawar during the four years. The last polio case in Peshawar emerged in 2016.
The samples of the affected child were taken on July 13 and the results showed that he has been infected by poliovirus. The emergence of new polio case in Peshawar took the tally in Pakistan this year to 61.
After a gap of four months due to coronavirus pandemic, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government resumed the polio vaccination campaign in the province on July 20. The previous vaccination campaign was carried out in February 2020.
The authorities in Pakistan have to battle poliovirus and coronavirus at the same time.
Health experts are of the opinion that there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from the crippling disease. With each vaccination of children below the age of five years, their protection against the virus is increased. No vaccination means more vulnerability to the virus particularly in Pakistan where it is endemic, they maintained.