QUETTA, Pakistan: A three-year-old child in Balochistan’s capital was found having a polio virus on Monday, according to a senior officer of the emergency operation cell Balochistan.
The new case was reported in Pashtoonabad area of Quetta where Abdul Rehman was diagnosed with polio virus.
Following the emergence of new polio case in Quetta, the number of polio victims in the troubled province during the current year has reached four.
Meanwhile, a scheduled polio vaccination campaign in Quetta was postponed due to security concerns.
The anti-polio drive was scheduled in Quetta and 29 districts of Balochistan during which 2.4 million children below the age of five were to be administered polio drops.
However, now 400,000 children in Quetta will remain deprived of being given polio vaccine, according to sources in the provincial health department.
Nation-wide anti-polio campaign begins
The national anti-polio campaign has begun all over the country on Saturday except Quetta, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, according to the prime minister’s polio monitoring and coordination cell.
During the campaign, about 35.5 million children up to the age of five years will be administered anti-polio drops.
The polio monitoring and coordination cell said that about 80,000 teams will administer anti-polio drops to children at their doorsteps, another 9,000 teams will be deputed at fixed centres while 4,000 will cover transit points for the vaccination of travelling children.
The district authorities have been directed to ensure deployment of vaccination teams at each health facility.
The prime minister’s focal person Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq has directed the authorities concerned to ensure that all the targeted children are vaccinated against polio.
The campaign in Rawalpindi is re-scheduled for March 24 whereas Islamabad for March 30. The dates for Quetta are being worked out.
Likewise, campaign in snow bound areas of Abbottabad, Chitral, Mansehra, Astore and Skardu has also been postponed.
