Pakistan reports 14th polio case this year

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) — A 20-month-old girl in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province has been confirmed to be infected with wild poliovirus, bringing the number of polio cases so far this year in the South Asian country to 14, according to the Health Ministry.
The kid living in the province’s Qilla Abdullah district developed paralysis in both legs on July 22 and “unfortunately passed away a few days later,” the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
This is the 11th case from Balochistan province this year. Two cases have so far been reported from the southern Sindh province and one from the eastern Punjab province.
Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, said that the rise in the number of cases reported in Balochistan is concerning.
Health authorities are working on an emergency strategy to vaccinate all children in high-risk districts at the earliest through targeted health camps and vaccination activities, she was quoted as saying in the statement. ■