ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded one more polio case on Sunday, raising the nationwide tally for this year to 48.

According to an official of the National Institute of Health, the latest victim was a 13-month-old male child whose parents live in Mamakhel union council of Bannu district .

“Both lower limbs of the child have been paralysed. The socio-economic-economic status of the family has been declared poor. The child did not receive even a single dose of polio vaccine during routine immunization or polio campaigns,” he said.

The official said during the current year KP had recorded 20 polio cases , Sindh 17, Balochistan 10 and Punjab one.

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus. It mainly affects children un­der the age of five. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death.

While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Every time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, immunity against the virus is augmented .

Repeated immunisations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing all countries in the world, except two, to become polio- free.

The two countries still grappling with the scourge are Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan has been under a polio-linked travel restriction since 2014 imposed by the World Health Organisation. It requires every Pakistani travelling abroad to carry a polio vaccination certificate.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2020