This is the sixth poliovirus case from Pakistan and the fifth from Balochistan alone in 2024. One case was reported from Sindh this year.
An 18-month-old child has been diagnosed with poliovirus in Balochistan’s Qilla Abdullah district, the provincial health department said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, it was the second such case reported from the Qilla Abdullah district.
Earlier, cases of the virus from the province were also reported from Dera Bugti, Chaman, and Quetta.
According to the technical summary of the case, the child had a high grade fever on June 1, 2024, and developed weakness in the right leg on June 3, 2024, as per the parents.
It added that the onset was sudden and progressed quickly.
The report mentioned that the child was taken to local healthcare providers and notified at Al-Khair private hospital in Quetta on June 8, 2024, after which the case was investigated and classified as urgent based on clinical findings on June 9.
“The child has not received any OPV doses in SIAs or RI, except for the birth dose of OPV and BCG (with scar present). There is no history of any intramuscular injection in the last 24 hours prior to the onset of paralysis,” the report stated, adding that there was no travel history of the child prior to the onset of paralysis.
