Islamabad, March 2 Pakistan's Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Pakistan has confirmed the sixth polio case in the country from District Thatta, Sindh, according to local media reports.
This was the fourth polio case from Sindh and the sixth in the country.
Meanwhile, a controversy deepened in Pakistan with the detection of a polio case in the Punjab province last month. The officials in Punjab refused to accept the polio detection case, reports the country's leading daily, Dawn.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Punjab's Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare, Khawaja Imran Nazeer, disputed the case. He claimed that the child had been examined by a team of doctors and was found with no neurological defects, declaring that the case should not be classified as poliomyelitis.
However, dismissing the debate over the Punjab case as unnecessary, a senior official of the National Institute of Health (NIH), speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, "The fact of the matter is that a qualified doctor suspected the patient as a possible polio victim using standard case definition, and the National Reference Lab isolated wild poliovirus from her stool sample confirming an infection."
The official further stated, "For all practical purposes, it's a confirmed polio case and needs to be tackled accordingly."
"To stay ahead of the virus and mitigate risks there and then, scientific norms must be respected, and challenges must be embraced with full vigilance and utmost courage without indulging in unproductive debates," he emphasised.
Pakistan is grappling with the resurgence of the polio virus, with new cases reported in recent weeks. On the other hand, Pakistan's neighbour India was officially declared polio-free on March 27, 2014.
The milestone achieved by India is not just celebrated within the country but globally as an example of successful public health intervention.
Despite diplomatic differences, India offered Pakistan "full cooperation" for eradicating polio from its soil and said it is a "cause for concern".
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