Islamabad, Oct 30 (PTI) Pakistan’s fight against poliovirus remained a tough case as yet another case of the crippling disease surfaced on Wednesday, taking the national tally of the year to 43.
The new victim was reported from Chagai district of Balochistan, according to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of the 43rd Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) case in Pakistan,” the statement said.
It was the first polio case from Chagai, a remote district bordering Afghanistan, which is only the second country apart from Pakistan where polio remains endemic.
The new case was found just days after Pakistan on Monday launched a week-long vaccination campaign with an aim of immunising more than 45 million children under the age of five.
So far, 22 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, seven from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.