Pakistan records 5th polio case this year

A child in Pakistan's southern Sindh province has been paralyzed by wild poliovirus, the country's Ministry of Health said.

 

The health ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the poliovirus was found in a 31-month-old child in Gadap Town of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, adding that after the latest case, the number of polio cases has increased to five this year in the South Asian country.

 

A 24-month-old child was diagnosed with the virus in the same area of Karachi in October, said the ministry, noting that an intensive investigation has been launched by the authority to comprehend the circumstances leading to the resurgence of the poliovirus in Karachi.

Besides that, all three other polio cases were reported from the Bannu district of northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

 

According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan is one of the only two polio-endemic countries in the world, along with its neighbor Afghanistan.

xinhua