ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health has said that three confirmed cases of polio have been reported from Khyber Agency, taking the number of victims of the deadly disease to 91 in six and a half months of this year. Last year’s total polio count was 93.

The three have been identified as Sumbul, daughter of Waris Khan of Akakhel in tehsil Bara; Samran, daughter of Khan Alam of Shah Dalay village, also of tehsil Bara; and Ibrahim, son of Shakeel of Kanday Mirankhel village in the same tehsil. Two of them are facing the attack of paralysis.

According to an official of the Prime Minister’s Monitoring and Coordination Cell for Polio, 69 cases had been recorded this year in Fata (North Waziristan 55, South Waziristan 5, Khyber 7 and FR Bannu 2), 15 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Peshawar 5, Bannu 9 and Mardan 1) and 7 in Sindh, all from Karachi (Baldia 1, Orangi 1, Gadap 3, Site Area 1 and Landhi 1).

No case has been recorded in Punjab.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2014