Islamabad [Pakistan], November 24 (ANI): Three more polio cases have been reported in Pakistan taking the total number of children infected from the virus to 55 this year, ARY News reported on Sunday.
According to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) of Pakistan, three new cases were reported from Dera Ismail Khan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and Zhob and Jaffarabad in Balochistan, the report said.
The affected children are two girls from Dera Ismail Khan and Zhob, and a boy from Jaffarabad, adding that this year, six polio cases have been reported from southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone.
In Balochistan, two more polio cases were reported, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 26 this year. The cases were reported from Zhob and Jaffarabad, as per ARY News.
Notably, the recent rise in polio cases in Pakistan has sparked concerns for international organizations.
According to sources, the international organisations have called on Pakistan to implement emergency measures. Sources revealed that Pakistan has assured them of taking swift action to control polio.
These organizations who work to combat the polio virus likely to visit Pakistan later this month.
Earlier, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health Islamabad confirmed the detection of the 48th Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) case in Pakistan.
On November 8, the lab confirmed the detection of WPV1 in a male child from the DI Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. DI Khan is among the polio-endemic districts in southern KP.
On October 29, two policemen were martyred in a terrorist attack on a polio vaccination team in the Upper Orakzai district. “Three attackers were also killed in retaliatory firing,” police officials said. (ANI)
