ISLAMABAD, Jun 21 (NNN-APP) – Pakistan, yesterday confirmed its 12th case of wild poliovirus this year, after the virus was detected in a child from the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Ministry of National Health Services, said.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, confirmed the virus in stool samples collected from a 33-month-old boy, residing in Union Council Shamsikhel of Bannu district, the ministry said in a statement.
This marks the sixth polio case reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year. According to official data, Pakistan has so far recorded 12 polio cases this year – four from Sindh, one from Punjab, and one from Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme has conducted three nationwide immunisation campaigns this year, in Feb, Apr, and May, reaching over 45 million children under the age of five, the ministry said.
Health authorities urged parents and caregivers to ensure that all children receive multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, an effective protection against the incurable and potentially paralysing disease.
Pakistan reported a total of 74 polio cases last year, official figures show.– NNN-APP
