PESHAWAR: About five new cases of polio were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa increasing the total number of victims of the crippling disease to 41 in the province during the current year.
According to a press release issued here on Wednesday by Emergency Operation Center (EOC) KP, among the five new victims three belong to Bannu district, one to Charsadda and one to North Waziristan district.
The faeces samples of the affected children have been sent to National Health Institute Islamabad for confirmation and other details of the virus, adds the press release. The affectees include three girls and two boys.
With reporting of new cases, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2019 reached 53 and in KP to 41, the press release continued. The maximum number of affected children in KP belonged to Bannu district.
According to EOC, the new cases in Bannu district are reported in areas including Kala Khel, Takhti Khel and Hindi Khel.
Meanwhile, after the emergence of new cases, a meeting was held in EOC KP on Wednesday under its Coordinator, Col (r) Kamran Ahmad Afridi.
Speaking on the occasion, Kamran Afridi said that an increase in the number of polio contagions is because of misconception among parents and due to the season of high transmission of the virus.
Due to this reason, he continued, special vaccination campaigns were launched in these areas. He said all resources are being utilized for eradication of poliovirus from the region, but due to the refusal by parents in vaccinating of children is resulting in the spread of the virus.