KARACHI: Member of Sindh Assembly (MPA) Sharmila Farooqui said on Saturday that 84 polio cases have been reported in all over Pakistan in 2020 including 22 from Sindh, 26 from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 14 from Punjab.

Addressing in a seminar here, she said that the country reported 147 polio cases in 2019, 12 in 2018, eight in 2017, 20 in 2016 and 54 in 2015, said a statement.

She said that there were more than 3000 polio centers across Sindh through which Sindh Health department is providing service to the polio patients.

Polio was a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects children, particularly under the age of five years, she added.

She said that the polio virus is transmitted through contaminated water and food. This disease spreads from person to person, she said.

She said that the polio virus attacks the nervous system which causes paralysis mostly in the lower limbs of children and it is often permanent.

Sharmila said that Sindh was the province most affected by COVID-19.

The essential services of routine immunization and polio campaigns would continue, she added.

She said that Sindh has conducted the anti-polio campaign in Karachi, July 2020, followed by regular campaigns in August, September and October 2020 and then in November and December.

She said According to a report, in October 2020, Sindh achieved 97 per cent coverage overall, with 93 per cent in Karachi. However, the level of refusals still raises concern.

She said that in the August 2020 campaign, there were 120,000 refusals in Karachi, which reduced to 102,000 in September and 82,000 in October.

She said that a memorandum of understanding (MOUs) has been signed with the Islamic Medical Association, which is now actively highlighting the importance of immunization.

She said that the Sindh government was striving hard to make polio campaigns more comprehensive.