Seven more polio cases have been detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly NWFP, aka Terrorism Central province and Khyber Agency of the tribal belt, officials said. Health officials told Daily Times on Tuesday that five new polio cases had been detected in Khyber Agency and two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Dr Mohammad Shafiq Afridi, field supervisor medical officer (FSMO), said that after detection of five new cases in Khyber Agency, the number of polio cases reached at 16 in the agency during the current year. About the new cases, he said two were detected in Malwat Akakhel and one each in Shalobar, Teera, and Speen Qabar area in Bara Tehsil. With the new cases, number of polio cases reached at 13 only in Bara, where military operation was underway against beturbanned goons.
He said that the five polio infected children included Rehmatullah (seven months), Usman (27 months), Rafiullah (11 months), Rizwan (18 months) and Mukhtiar (21 months).
The FSMO said that stool samples of the five children were sent to National Institute for Health and all were tested positive for poliovirus.
"About 106,000 children in Bara would remain deprived of polio vaccination during the ongoing four-day campaign started from Monday due to the enduring military operation in the area," the FSMO said.