Summary As many as 13 new cases of polio were confirmed on Tuesday.
KARACHI (Web Desk) – Rafia, A 22-months-old girl, was confirmed to be the latest victim of the crippling polio virus in city’s UC-8 of Gadap Town, surging the toll of affected children to eleven in Karachi this year, Dunya News reported on Wednesday.
It is the third case from the same union council and fifth from Gadap Town. After emergence of five 13 polio cases on Tuesday, the tally has reached 158. Out of which, 112 in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), 29 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 12 Sindh, 3 Balochistan and 2 new cases have surfaced in Punjab this year.
Polio virus mainly affects children below age of 5.
Pakistan is in the spotlight as the only country with endemic polio that saw cases rise last year. Its caseload rose to 93 from 58 in 2012, accounting for more than a fifth of the 417 cases globally in 2013.
The virus invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours. There is no cure for the disease but it can be prevented by immunization. The polio vaccine, administered multiple times, can protect a child for life.
