Failing Fight: Four new cases of polio emerge

ISLAMABAD: The number of reported polio cases in Pakistan rose to 84 as the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed four additional polio cases on Friday. NIH officials said eight-month-old Ume Fatima from Okara; 26-month-old Ghulam Hussain from Thatta; and 15 and 12 months old Shabirullah and Adil from North Waziristan were diagnosed positive for polio. In 2011, Balochistan has been hit the worst with 34 cases of polio.This is folowed by Federal Administered Tribal Areas with 26 cases, Sindh with 15 cases, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with seven cases. Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan each have had one polio case so far.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2011.