Two new polio cases reported from Karachi, Khyber District

KARACHI: Two new cases of the polio virus were reported from Karachi and Khyber District on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases of the disease in the country in the ongoing year to six.

Babar Atta, the focal person to Prime Minister Imran Khan on polio eradication, confirmed the new cases in a Twitter post.

“2 more Polio cases have been detected today from Khyber Tribal District & Karachi. Total during the current year reach 06. Cases is a symptom of the underlying problem. (Heavy Virus circulation in Sewage/Environment). On PowerPoint everything is a GREEN & on Ground a big Fat RED,” the official said. 

Along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, Pakistan is one of the only three countries where complete polio eradication has not yet been achieved.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), polio has been all but wiped out across the world following a sustained vaccination campaign, with only 22 cases reported in 2017 against more than 350,000 in 1988. There is no known cure but the disease can be prevented if children are given multiple treatments with the polio vaccine, the WHO says.

While it has virtually eliminated, polio remains a threat to global health because as long as a single child remains infected, the virus can easily be spread into polio-free countries and unimmunised populations, according to the health body.