ISLAMABAD: Four new polio cases were reported from northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, taking the total number of polio cases in the country to 280 this year.
According to the Prime Minister's Polio Monitoring & Coordination Cell, one case was of a 13-year-old girl from Swat, another case was from South Waziristan, whereas two cases were reportedly from Khyber Agency.
This year, 172 polio cases have been reported from Fata, 61 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 27 from Sindh, 17 from Balochistan and three from Punjab.
Pakistan is one of the three countries in the world where polio remains endemic but efforts to stamp it out have been badly hit in recent years by attacks on immunisation teams.
Explore | Pakistan set to record highest number of polio cases: officials
Militants allege polio vaccination is a cover for espionage or a Western conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.
Polio cases in Pakistan reached a low of 28 in 2005 but rose to 198 in 2011. In 2012, Pakistan had 58 cases, while 72 were recorded in 2013.
Officials have said tens of thousands of children were missing polio eradication campaigns every year “because of the law and order situation” in the tribal areas as well as due to the unwillingness of family or parents unwilling or afraid to vaccinate.
Also read | War on polio: Is it all spiraling out of control for Pakistan?
