PESHAWAR: Two new cases of polio virus have been confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, raising this year’s national tally to five.

According to the Chief Minister's Polio Control Cell in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, polio virus was detected in a seven month old girl, Naureen Ajab Khan of Kohat district and 21 months old Jareer Waliullah, belonging to Peshawar.

With the two new cases reported today, the total number of polio cases reported this year in the province have reached three.

This year's first case was confirmed on February 6 in Karachi where a 34-month old Pakhtun child was positively diagnosed with the crippling virus.The second case was confirmed in KP's Nowshehra district in a 19- month old child, Abdullah Jehad Khan while the third case was reported from Balochistan on Tuesday.

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Polio which can cause life-long paralysis can be prevented with a simple vaccination.

With Nigeria being declared polio-free in September last year, Pakistan and its war-battered neighbour Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the disease is prevalent.

Polio vaccination has always remained a challenge for health officials in the country for they have to convince parents, who are sometimes reluctant because of their conservative views.