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QUETTA: A new polio case surfaced in Qila Abdullah on Wednesday, raising the total number of cases in Balochistan to 12 this year.
The latest victim of the crippling disease was identified as 14-month-old Bahadur, son of Abdul Razzaq, a resident of Chaman Town, Union Council Daman Ashezai, a town which shares a border with Afghanistan.
“The infected child received four dozes of anti-polio vaccine,” Dr Isahq Panezai, Deputy Program Manager EPI Balochistan said.
This year 12 cases of polio-virus have been reported in Balochistan, seven from Qila Abdullah and five from Quetta.
The Quetta zone, comprising Quetta, Qila Abdullah and Pishin districts, is marked as a high-risk area for polio in Balochistan and a majority of cases have been reported from there.
According to doctors, a child needs to be administered polio drops more than 20 times to develop a stronger immune system to fight the crippling virus. There are some children who had been administered polio drops three to seven times but still contracted it.
Health experts in Quetta, during a seminar, urged doctors to contribute in changing the mindset of parents as most of them refuse to administer drops repeatedly during the campaigns.
