Three new polio cases reported in Pakistan

Three new cases of polio have been confirmed in Pakistan, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH), which reported one case each from Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan, and Umerkot.

According to health department sources, a 15-month-old girl in Lakki Marwat and a 6-month-old girl in North Waziristan have been diagnosed with polio. In Sindh’s Umerkot district, a five-year-old boy has also tested positive for the virus.

With these new cases, the total number of polio cases reported in the country this year has reached 17.

So far, 10 cases have been reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, five from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

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The NIH said that polio is an incurable disease and can only be prevented through vaccination.

It urged that all children under the age of five must be vaccinated in every national immunization campaign.

Opposition to the polio vaccine, the institute warned, risks a lifetime of disability for children.

The NIH further stated that parents play a crucial role in the fight against polio, noting that every unvaccinated child poses a threat not only to themselves but also to others.