The first polio case of 2023 has surfaced in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the Health officials on Friday.
The type-1 wild poliovirus (WPV1) was confirmed in a 3-year-old child hailing from Ghora Bakakhel UC of Bannu, sources said.
The area is having security issues. Both lower limbs were affected by the onset of paralysis on 20 Feb 2023. The child was not vaccinated but finger marked, his father is a farmer,” said the reporting Physician.
Last year, 20 polio cases were detected in Pakistan; 17 cases were reported from North Waziristan, two from Lakky Marwat, and one from South Waziristan. All of them were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
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The Ministry of Health has also launched an anti-polio vaccination campaign, holding it in two phases due to the ongoing seventh national census.
During the first phase, from March 13 to March 17, over 17.41 million children under the age of five in 13 districts of Punjab and 16 districts of Sindh and Islamabad will be vaccinated.
The second phase will be held from April 03 to 07 to vaccinate more than 4.12 million children in 12 districts of Balochistan and 26 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the seven endemic districts in the southern region of the province.
