The Emergency Operation Center (EOC) has confirmed a new case of polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. A 10-month-old girl from Darra Adam Khel has tested positive for the poliovirus, marking the second case in the province this year.
This latest case comes just six days after another child in the Mohmand district was diagnosed with polio.
The new infection brings Pakistan's total polio cases for the year to at least 23, underscoring the country's continued struggle against the virus.
Earlier this week, a case was reported in Balochistan's Pishin district, bringing the total in that province to 15 for the year. The National Institute of Health had confirmed that a two-and-a-half-year-old child was affected, raising concerns about the spread of the virus in vulnerable areas.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a nationwide vaccination campaign targeting 30 million children under five. The campaign involved deploying around 286,000 polio workers for door-to-door vaccine administration.
A recent terrorist attack on the Zhob-DI Khan National Highway resulted in the deaths of three Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) personnel who were protecting polio workers, highlighting the risks faced by those involved in vaccination campaigns.
