Three new polio cases surface in Pakistan

At least three new cases of polio have surfaced in Pakistan, taking the number of those affected this year to 174, an official said today.
The new cases were confirmed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad.
One victim each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan has been diagnosed with polio virus, the NIH said.
This year, 122 cases from FATA, 30 from KP, 15 from Sindh, five from Balochistan and two from Punjab have been reported so far.
A total of 58 polio cases were reported in 2012 while 93 cases surfaced in 2013.

The country has already announced a three-day nationwide anti-polio campaign from tomorrow during which about 35 million children will be given vaccine to immunise them against the crippling disease.
Pakistan, which is already facing travel restrictions imposed by the World Health Organisation, is among the three countries along with Nigeria and Afghanistan where polio virus is endemic.