ISLAMABAD: Four new polio cases — three from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) — have been recorded in the country.

According to the Prime Minister’s Polio Cell, the families of three of the children refused to have them vaccinated, while the fourth child could not be immunised because of a Taliban ban on vaccinations in Waziristan.

According to the cell, 28-month-old Janoor, son of Gul Faraz Khan from Miramshah in North Waziristan, had not been vaccinated due to the Taliban’s opposition to the practice.

Four-month-old Tuba, daughter of Peshawar-resident Rahimullah, was not administered the vaccine despite repeated visits by the Sehat Ka Insaf teams.

The third victim, four-month-old Abdur Rehman is the son of Sultan Sher from Mardan, which is the hotbed of vaccine refusal.

Bannu resident Gul Sabir Shah’s son Faridullah was the fourth victim of the debilitating disease. Bannu is one of the most hostile areas for vaccinators in the country.

With the fresh cases, the total number of polio cases detected in 2014 has gone up to 88.

An official from the Ministry of National Health Services told Dawn that the only way to curb the disease was to announce a ‘polio emergency’.

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“After the proclamation of a polio emergency, vaccine refusal should be declared a crime,” he suggested.

WHO Pakistan Polio chief Dr Elias Durry told Dawn that the military operation offered an opportunity to reach the children of North Waziristan.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2014