Two new cases of Polio disease have surfaced in Peshawar and Khyber Agency. Despite efforts by the government, the deadly disease is constantly spreading and new cases are surfacing almost daily.
According to Ministry of Health, polio virus has been confirmed in 16-year-old Salma of Khyber Agency and 18-year-old Habiba of Peshawar. Sources claim that infected children did not receive anti-polio vaccine.
So far, 160 patients of the disease have been confirmed in Pakistan this year whereas the total number of polio cases till September 2013 was 49. Out of these 160 patients, 115 are form Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), 6 are from Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KPK), 6 from Sindh and 2 each from Balochistan and Punjab.
After increasing number of polio cases in Pakistan, traveling restrictions were imposed on Pakistanis on the advice of international Monitoring Board in May 2014. Pakistani citizens cannot travel abroad without receiving Polio Vaccination Certificate. On the other hand, UNICEF report says that polio eradication mission has been unsuccessful to achieve its targets in Pakistan because of poor security situation of the country, lack of awareness and inaccessibility of some tribal areas.
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