Seven new polio cases put Pakistan total at 227

National Institute of Health confirms five infants were diagnosed with wild type-1 polio in K-P and Fata

ISLAMABAD: Seven new polio cases were reported in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Tuesday, taking the country's total number of cases to 227 in 2014.

The National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed that seven infants were diagnosed with wild type-1 polio.

Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only three countries where polio, which can cause paralysis and death, remains endemic.

Earlier, Fahimullah from Peshawar and Saima from Khyber Agency were identified as the latest victims of the virus. Both of them are only 10 months old.

Later in the day, five more cases surfaced bringing the total number of victims in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to 46 and 148 in Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Twenty three polio cases have been reported in Sindh so far this year, three in Punjab and seven in Balochistan.