ISLAMABAD (Kashmir Digital): Three new cases of polio have been reported in the country as the National Institute of Health has confirmed one new case each from Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan, and Umerkot.
According to the health department, a 15-month-old girl in Lakki Marwat and a 6-month-old girl in North Waziristan have been infected with polio, while a 5-year-old child has also been infected with polio in Umerkot district of Sindh.
Sources say that after the three new cases were reported, the number of polio cases reported in the country this year has reached 17.
So far, 10 have been reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 5 from Sindh, and one case each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The National Institute of Health says that polio is an incurable disease that can only be prevented with a vaccine.
Children under the age of 5 must be vaccinated in every polio campaign. Opposition to the polio vaccine can leave children with lifelong disabilities.
According to the National Institute of Health, the role of parents in the fight against polio is extremely important, as every unvaccinated child can pose a threat to others.
Earlier, the National Reference Laboratory, on Sunday, revealed that the polio virus has been detected in sewage sample testing across Pakistan.
The polio virus has been detected in sewage samples from all four provinces, including the federal capital, Islamabad.
The NRL conducted a total of 28 sewage sample tests from 20 districts, raising an alarm over Pakistan’s fight against the polio virus.
The results show that the sewage sample tests positive for Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1). These samples were taken between May 8 and June 17.
14 sewage samples from 10 districts tested positive for polio. The sample from Lahore also tested positive.
Mastung, Khuzdar, and Sibi in Balochistan are the districts confirming the presence of poliovirus.
Additionally, five samples from four Khyber Pakhtunkhwa areas came back positive. Additionally, two samples from two different locations in Islamabad were found to be positive. One sample from the district of Mirpur in Azad Kashmir had a positive poliovirus test.
In Sindh, samples from Jacobabad, Hyderabad, Qambar, Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Karachi East, Karachi West, South, Keamari, and Sukkur tested positive for polio.
Additionally, poliovirus was found in samples from Upper South Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, Mansehra, and Dera Ismail Khan.
