Pakistan reports four new cases of polio, year's tally rises to 63

Pakistan has reported four new polio cases, bringing the crippling disease's total in the country for the year to 63 more than a ten-fold increase from last year's tally of just 6 cases.

Despite repeated countrywide polio vaccination campaigns, two new cases were detected on Friday in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces each, the Dawn newspaper reported, citing a statement from the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC).

On Friday, December 13, the lab confirmed one polio case each from Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, and Jacobabad, where female children are affected, and Sukkur, where a male child is affected, the statement said.

"This is the ninth polio case from Dera Ismail Khan, third from Tank and Jacobabad and first from Sukkur this year, it said.

Of the 63 cases reported in the country so far this year, 26 were from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

Last year, Pakistan reported six polio cases, a sharp decline from the 20 cases detected in 2022, according to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio remains endemic, according to the World Health Organisation.