Islamabad sees first polio case in last 16 years

A child receives the polio vaccine. Pic/WHO

Authorities in Pakistan on Friday reported its first polio case in the capital Islamabad in the last 16 years, a setback to the national efforts aimed at eradicating the crippling virus from the country.

According to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio at the National Institute of Health, wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was detected in a child at Union Council Rural 4 of Islamabad. "This is the first human case reported from Islamabad in the last 16 years," an official statement said, adding that the case marked the 17th polio case in Pakistan this year.

"It is heartbreaking that another Pakistani child has been affected by a disease that has no cure but is preventable with a vaccine," said Ayesha Raza Farooq, the PM's focal person for polio eradication.

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