ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health (NIH) on Wednesday confirmed that another child in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), was diagnosed as having been paralyzed by wild poliovirus, taking the number of cases in the country to 15 so far in the current year.
The NIH Polio Laboratory confirmed that the 17-month-old child was suffering from polio-induced disabilities began showing early signs of paralysis. The southern districts of KP, namely North and South Waziristan, DI Khan, Bannu, Tank, and Lakki Marwat, have become the hotspot of wild poliovirus.
Besides one case from Lakki Marwat district reported last week, all cases reported in the current year so far, have emerged in North Waziristan among children under two years of age. The polio eradication campaign has been started across the country on August 22. Polio workers remained undeterred in the face of floods, as they continue to cross dangerous rivers to fulfill their duties.
Earlier, the health ministry officials said that the virus was detected for the first time in sewerage samples of Bahawalpur.
Another sample with the presence of poliovirus was collected from Rawalpindi, they added.
Alarmed by the situation, the officials said that the results of samples from different cities of KP, Punjab, and Sindh were yet to come.
