Balochistan Point Voice of Nation
Quetta – A fresh case of crippling polio disease confirmed in a five-year-old girl in Quetta on Wednesday bringing the total number of cases to 5 in Balochistan while 30 in Pakistan during the year of 2015.
According to Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Balochistan, wild polio virus detected in the Gul Afshan, 5 years old. Her parents had refused to administer polio drops on religious grounds.
“The chronic refusal was not recorded in tally sheet prepared by the polio teams,” an official of EOC Balochistan said.
It was the third polio case in Quetta while fifth in Balochistan during the year of 2015. The total number of polio cases have reached to 30 in Pakistan this year. Recently, two environmental samples were turned positive in Quetta.
The parents of the affected girl had refused on religious grounds, spokesperson said. However another official said that the chronic refusal was not recorded at all. The EOC Balochistan has taken a serious note and launched an investigation into the matter. “The EOC is closely monitoring the situation and will take every possible step to improve the quality of the campaign,” spokesperson said.
A senior official said that the anti-polio drive has not been launched since April while the number missed children were high which made the children of the provincial capital vulnerable to contract crippling polio disease.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world which have not been able to eradicate the poliovirus while no case of polio virus was reported in Nigeria over a year.
News desk
Published in The Balochistan Point on September 2, 2015
