Lady doctor arrested for refusing anti-polio drops to children at her clinic in Badin

A lady doctor has been arrested for obstructing polio workers from administering drops to children at a clinic in Badin, Sindh.

According to police, the incident took place at a clinic on Badin Bypass Road, where the lady doctor reportedly prevented the polio team from vaccinating children.

SSP stated that the doctor misbehaved with the polio team and forcibly removed them from the clinic.

Following a complaint from the polio team, police promptly took action, arresting the doctor and filing a case against her.

The number of polio cases in Pakistan this year has risen to 45 after two fresh cases were detected in the country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, authorities said.

The latest cases surfaced in the Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan provinces, Geo News reported, quoting the National Emergency Operations Centre.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed the cases as those of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).

This marks the second polio case this year from both districts, where environmental samples tested positive for WPV1, highlighting a high risk of virus transmission in the region.

WPV1 has been detected in 76 districts from all four provinces of the county, indicating the virus' widespread circulation.

The detection of new cases has jolted Pakistan's efforts to curb the spread of the crippling disease, for which a nationwide eradication programme is ongoing.