11-year-old girl tests positive for polio

Karachi: An 11-year-old girl has tested positive for polio in Karachi, raising the number of such victims in Sindh to four in 2008, doctors said yesterday.

With the detection of this case, the government's efforts to declare Pakistan a polio-free country has received a serious setback and raised concerns about the effectiveness of immunisation campaigns, which are routinely launched with much fanfare.

"Symptoms of polio were detected in the girl in the first week of April when she suffered high fever and severe pain in one of her hands," said Javed Iqbal, a doctor in the North Town District of Karachi. "Her blood test confirmed that she was suffering from T-One type polio," he said. This is the first polio case in Karachi.

The victim, Farah, had been vaccinated for polio when she was five years old. She was also given additional dosage, the doctor said giving details of her vaccination report. However, the polio vaccination did little to save the girl from the disease.