Peshawar, Dec 3 (PTI) The number of polio cases in Pakistan this year has risen to 59 after three fresh cases were detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, authorities said on Tuesday.
The latest cases surfaced in Dera Ismail Khan, Karachi and Kashmore, the National Institute of Health (NIH) said.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at NIH confirmed the cases as those of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).
There are three variations of poliovirus -- WPV1, WPV2 and WPV3. While types 2 and 3 have been eradicated completely, type 1 exists only in a few parts of the world. Polio type 1 is most likely to cause paralysis.
Of the 59 polio cases reported so far this year, 26 are from Balochistan, 16 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 15 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Dera Ismail Khan is one of the seven polio-endemic districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Eight polio cases have been reported from the district so far.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio remains endemic, according to the World Health Organisation. Anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan are regularly marred by violence. Many workers have been killed and injured by attackers who believe that anti-polio vaccine campaigns are un-Islamic.