Pakistan has reported another case of polio, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country this year to 12, health officials announced on Friday.
According to the National Polio Emergency Operation Center, the latest case was detected in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where a 33-month-old child from Shamsikhel Union Council tested positive for the virus. The diagnosis was confirmed by the National Institute of Health laboratory.
With this new case, the total number of polio cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has risen to six. The rest of the cases this year include four from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Health authorities reiterated the urgent need to maintain consistency in nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaigns. “Continuity in polio eradication efforts is essential to eliminate the virus from Pakistan,” the Polio Emergency Operation Centre said in a statement.
