Poliovirus was found in another child in Balochistan after which the number of polio cases reported in the province during the current year rose to seven, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.

The latest case involves a four-year-old girl whose parents had refused to administer polio drops to their child.

According to the provincial health department, the girl hails from Usta Muhammad tehsil of Jaffarabad district.

A total of 42 polio cases have so far been reported in Pakistan since the start of the current year.

Pakistan has been witnessing an alarming rise in polio cases after it was close to eliminating the crippling virus in 2017.

The details of cases during last five years are: 54 in 2015, 20 in 2016, eight in 2017, 12 in 2018 and 146 in 2019.

Just like the past years, most number of cases are being reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where 19 children are infected by the virus during the current year. The total cases for 2019 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were 92. 

An important fact to note is that all these cases have been recorded in the southern district of the province, the details of which are: Lakki Marwat 12, South Waziristan four, Karak two and North Waziristan one.

In Sindh, 15 cases have been recorded in the first four months of 2020 while a total of 30 were reported in 2019, which represents an alarming trend.

Meanwhile, only one new polio case has been reported in Punjab so far against the 12 recorded last year.

On the other hand, Balochistan has seen seven cases so far against the figures of 12 in 2020.