Pakistan: Another polio case in Karachi brings this year's tally to 84

http://tribune.com.pk/

Another police case surfaced in Karachi on Friday bringing the total number of cases in the country to 84 so far this year, Express News reported.

One-year-old child, identified as Murad, is reportedly the latest victim of the crippling virus. The child is a resident of Landhi. Up till now 65 cases have been reported from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), 12 from Khyber-Paktunkhwa (K-P) and now seven from Sindh.

Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic but efforts to stamp out the crippling disease have been hit by repeated attacks on health teams.

Gunmen have frequently attacked polio vaccination workers, accusing them of being Western spies and part of a plot to sterilise Muslims.

A global eradication campaign has reduced polio cases by 99.9 per cent in the last three decades, but it remains endemic in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The disease is highly infectious and can cause irreversible paralysis.