EOC reports two new polio cases in Sindh

KARACHI: Two new polio cases have been identified in Sindh’s Jacobabad and Mirpur Khas, the province’s Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) reported on Saturday.

According to the EOC five-year-old boy from Jacobabad and a four-year-old boy from Mirpur Khas were found affected by the polio virus.

The EOC spokesman said that both the cases have been added to the tally of the cases reported in 2019.

With the new cases, the tally of the confirmed polio cases in the province from January 2019 to February 2020 has mounted to 30.

Read also: Global polio watchdog terms 2019 as ‘annus horribilis’ for Pakistan

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr Zafar Mirza, said 137 polio cases were reported last year.

Zafar denied that there were zero polio cases in the previous government’s tenure. He, however, added that number of the reported cases might have been lower as compared to now.

The SAPM expressed hope that the number of polio cases will significantly go down in 2021.

Dr Zafar Mirza also said that the government has reviewed the anti-polio drive across the country.