Pakistan has reported more cases of polio in the country and the number of polio cases reported in the South Asian Muslim country this year has risen to 184.
Islamabad, Sept 30: In a matter of great concern for world health organizations, Pakistan has reported more cases of polio in the country and the number of polio cases reported in the South Asian Muslim country this year has risen to 184.
“10 more polio cases were reported from different parts of the country. The polio cases were tested at the polio virology laboratory at National Institute of Health (NIH) and then confirmed,” a health official said.
He said those infected included a 10-month-old boy,six-month-old girl and a 48-month-old girl in Pakistan provinces having tribal regions, where hardliners had opposed anti-polio immunization drive.
The official said with the 10 new cases, total number of 184 polio cases have been reported in the country this year. “Of these, 127 cases were reported from Fata, 33 from Khyber Pakhunkhwa province, 17 from Sindh, two from Punjab and five from Balochistan”.
Fresh anti-polio drive launched in Pakistan
Health officials said although a fresh drive to vaccinate 34.16 million children started in the country yesterday but about 17000 children could not be vaccinated in Peshawar city due to refusal of their parents.
They said they are seeking cooperation and assistance of influential personalities of the area to ensure that all children are vaccinated.
According to Pakistan TV channel, Express News, three people were injured when a polio team was attacked in Gujranwala, Punjab on Tuesday.
Polio workers are frequently targeted in the country, while many parents refuse to let health workers administer polio drops to their children. The terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had launched many attacks on the health workers, including female volunteers, and killed many of them. TTP had opposed immunization drive in the country claiming that it was launched at the behest of US.
The Western and Middle East countries have warned Pakistan that they will impose travel restrictions on its citizens.
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