Ninth polio case detected in Pakistan

A five-year old child has been detected with polio in Pakistan's Sindh province, making him the ninth confirmed case this year in the area, officials said Friday.

Umair was among the four children from across the country whose samples were sent to Islamabad's National Institute of Health for examination, which confirmed after six weeks, Dawn online reported.

"So far he is the oldest among the children inflicted with polio in Sindh and he was allowed to be administered with polio drops just once a few years back," a health official said.

The official said that the victim was among the children whose families stubbornly stopped them from being vaccinated.

All these cases were primarily caused due to a misconception among tribal people that vaccination is forbidden in Islam or because Taliban militants' ban on the vaccination since 2012.

The total number of polio cases detected in Pakistan this year has risen to 105.

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.