ISLAMABAD, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Another case of polio has been reported from Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, bringing the total number of cases so far this year to 15, the Pakistani Health Ministry said Tuesday night.
In a statement, the ministry has confirmed poliovirus in a 23-month-old child from Kharan district of the province, underscoring the constant threat the current outbreak of poliovirus is posing to children's wellbeing.
This was the first case in Kharan and the 12th from Balochistan this year, while two cases were reported from the southern Sindh province and one from the eastern Punjab province, said the statement.
Pakistan Polio Eradication Program has conducted an extensive self-critical assessment in consultation with all provinces and is implementing a comprehensive roadmap to interrupt virus transmission, particularly in polio high-risk districts of Balochistan, the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Sindh, it added.
Poliovirus has been found in 59 districts so far, with the most detections in Balochistan's capital Quetta and Sindh's capital Karachi, according to the ministry. ■
