Four new polio cases surface in K-P, FATA

PESHAWAR: Four more polio cases were confirmed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata) on Wednesday, pushing the number of cases reported in the country this year so far to 231.

According to the National Institute of Health, two of the cases surfaced in Peshawar and two of them in the Khyber Agency. The cases in Peshawar were discovered in samples collected on October 5 and 12, a statement issued by the institute said. Those in Khyber Agency were found in samples collected on October 3 and October 11.

With the two new cases from Khyber Agency, the number of cases reported from Fata has now reached the 150 mark. The number of cases to surface in K-P this year, meanwhile, has now reached 48.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wrote a letter to all four chief ministers, declaring the rising number of polio cases a national health emergency and urging them to redouble their efforts to eradicate the crippling virus.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2014.