Health Ministry confirms third polio case in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Third polio case of the year 2023 was confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Bannu district on Wednesday as Pakistan struggling to get rid of the crippling disease, ARY News reported citing sources at the Ministry of National Health.

The third confirmed case of polio in 2023 was discovered on Wednesday in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Bannu province, according to sources at the Ministry of National Health who were quoted by ARY News. Pakistan is fighting to eradicate the devastating illness.

Health ministry sources reported that the polio virus discovered in a youngster from the Bannu region of KP has been confirmed by the National Polio Laboratory. "Polio virus has been confirmed in an 18-month-old girl at UC Ghora in Bakakhel," the sources continued.

There were as many as 20 cases of poliovirus recorded nationwide in 2022. When there was only one case reported in Pakistan in 2021, the disease was almost completely eradicated.

Anwaarul Haq Kakar, the interim prime minister, began a five-day anti-polio campaign on Monday.