A ten-month-old child in Kohat has been diagnosed with polio, as reported by Dunya News on Thursday. This marks the second confirmed polio case in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year and the 23rd case reported nationwide.
According to a laboratory report from the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the patient’s sample tested positive for poliovirus. Health experts have expressed concern over the emergence of polio cases in the country and are urging parents to ensure their children receive vaccinations against this incurable and crippling disease.
Just two days prior, a case was reported involving a 30-month-old boy from Pishin in Balochistan, where 14 poliovirus cases have already been detected this year. The southern province of Sindh has reported four cases, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Islamabad have each reported one case this year.
Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains one of the last polio-endemic countries in the world. Since late 2018, Pakistan has experienced a resurgence of polio cases and an increased spread of the virus, highlighting the fragility of the progress made in the preceding three years.
