• Yesterday, a 34-month-old child was detected with poliovirus in the Pishin district of Balochistan.

• It takes the provincial tally to 17 this year, already exceeding the previous year's tally of 12.

• So far 68 new cases of the crippling and potentially deadly viral disease have been reported this year in Pakistan, according to Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme.

According to the Balochistan health department, the 34-month-old boy belonging to Pishin’s Union Council, Ali Zai was tested for poliovirus on August 19 and 20 after showing symptoms of the disease. The child was suspected as a polio case and was confirmed yesterday when the test came out positive for the viral disease.

It is said that the family of the child was reluctant to administer anti-polio drops to the child and never let the polio workers administer the vaccine which led to the kid getting infected with the deadly disease.

This year polio cases are expected to increase in the country due to a 4-month suspension of the vaccination campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Polio in Pakistan is still very much prevalent. It's a shame that we still haven't been able to eradicate the disease from our country, while most of the African countries have.

Pakistan has still a long way to go in its efforts of eradicating polio from the country. The major obstacles in the polio eradication have been militancy in the region, misinformation, rumors regarding the vaccine and its side effects, and unawareness among the poor segments of society.