Jump in polio cases in Pakistan stokes fears of resurgence

Islamabad: Pakistan has witnessed a rapid increase in new polio cases in recent weeks, stoking fears of a resurgence of the crippling disease after a sharp decline last year, officials said on Thursday. The new polio cases from the South Asian country doubled to 32 so far this year in a month with numbers going up particularly in the volatile south-western province of Balochistan near the Afghan border, according to the official data. Pakistan managed to reduce new polio cases to only six last year - down from a peak of 147 in 2019 - with the help of a door-to-door vaccination drive jointly funded and aided by the UN and the Gates Foundation. "But once again this year has been a huge disappointment,” said Doctor Nadeem Shah, an official at the country’s polio eradication programme. Half of the 32 new cases this year have come from Balochistan where many parents refused vaccinations and health workers can’t reach communities due to violence in some regions, Shah added.(dpa)