Islamabad: Pakistan has reported the twelfth polio case of the year, double last year’s total, jolting the country’s efforts to eradicate the crippling disease, media reports said on Sunday.
The latest case was reported in Punjab province’s Chakwal district on Saturday, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The victim is a six-year-old male child from the district, the report said, quoting an official from the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication.
The fresh case is the first in the Punjab province in four years and takes the country’s tally to 12, double last year’s total of six cases.
“The latest victim is over six years old, indicating possible immunity-related issues,” the official was quoted as saying. “We are currently in the eighth month of the year and have already doubled last year’s total of six cases. This suggests that the polio situation in the country is worsening,” the official added.
On Saturday, national Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) officials confirmed the detection of two new cases from Balochistan, raising the province’s total polio cases to nine, Geo News reported.
Pakistan reported its ninth polio case last month in Balochistan province’s Zhob district.
Epidemiologists say the polio programme in Pakistan has encountered significant hurdles, including local protests, security issues, and vaccine hesitancy, which disrupted vaccination campaigns, according to the report.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio remains endemic, according to the World Health Organisation.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Neha Khan | 
