Islamabad: At least three new cases of polio have been detected in Pakistan, a grim reminder of the challenge the country faces in its fight against the crippling disease.
All new victims belong to the troubled northwestern tribal region where anti-polio efforts have suffered reversals due to attacks by Pakistani Taliban militants.
A doctor at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad said that the three victims are include six-month-old Munsif and 18-month-old Bilal of Khyber and 18-month-old Nazia of South Waziristan tribal regions.
With this, the total new cases of infection in 2014 have reached 122, out of which 89 are in the tribal areas.
Pakistan along with Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
So far all efforts by the Pakistan government have failed to address the problem.
