KARACHI: A fresh polio case was reported in Sindh's Shikarpur district on Friday, bringing the year's total to eight cases.

Deputy Health Officer Shikarpur Dr Qazi Khursheed Ahmed told Dawn that a sample collected from four-year-old Ashiq Hussain confirmed that the child had polio.

Hussain's father said his son had regularly been administered anti-polio drops.

It is the fourth such case reported in the province and the second from Shikarpur. The last case was reported in March.

Related: Polio case reported from Sindh

Earlier this month, seven police commandos guarding polio workers were gunned down in twin attacks carried out by armed motorcyclists in provincial capital Karachi.

The immunisation drive, however, continued in the provincial capital. An official in the provincial health ministry had admitted that the shooting in Orangi Town had certainly created uncertainty among volunteers in many neighbourhoods, but none of them had refused to go in their assigned areas.

Militant groups often attack polio teams in the country as they see vaccination campaigns as a cover for espionage. There are also long running rumours about polio drops causing infertility.

This year three cases each were reported from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one from Balochistan, the latest case from Sindh brings the total number to eight across the country.

It is pertinent to note here that Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world which have not been able to eradicate the polio-virus.

Related: Undeterred by policemen’s killing, polio campaign continues in city