Three new polio cases detected in Pakistan

Three new polio cases has been detected in Pakistan's Khyber Agency region, a media report said Tuesday. The total number of polio cases detected in Pakistan this year has risen to 91, Dawn online reported. Out of the 91 cases, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has recorded 69 -- 55 from North Waziristan Agency, seven from Khyber Agency, five from South Waziristan Agency and two from frontier region of Bannu. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 15 cases -- five from Peshawar, nine from Bannu and one from Mardan. (Read: Pakistani province short of polio vaccine, seeks time from WHO)

Sindh has recorded seven cases, all from Karachi. The vaccination campaigns in Khyber Agency has been affected since the Taliban banned immunisation in November 2012. It has been difficult for health workers in tribal areas to vaccinate children due to the wrath of Taliban militants, health officials said. Pakistan has recorded the highest number of polio cases among the other two endemic countries, Afghanistan and Nigeria. An estimated 160,000 children have not been vaccinated since 2012. (Read: Pakistan the only South Asian country still struggling with polio!)

What is polio?

Polio or poliomyelitis is a communicable viral disease which affects the nerves and can lead to partial or permanent paralysis. It is transmitted through stool or saliva. The global effort to eradicate polio has been very successful and from 350,000 cases in 1988 only 40 cases were reported worldwide in 2012. There is no cure for the diseases though vaccination can prevent the disease for life. India has done remarkably in eradicating polio and from 2011 no new cases were reported. (Read more )

With inputs from IANS

For more articles on diseases & conditions , visit our diseases & conditions section. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates! For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. And to join discussions on health topics of your choice, visit our forum.