Three new polio cases detected in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Three new polio cases have been detected in Pakistan, taking the number of cases found so far this year to six.

The country recorded 305 new cases last year, making it the most deadly year for the crippling disease since 2000.

An official of the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad said that three new polio victims were found after tests conducted in the virology facility of hospital.

Pakistan is one of only three countries along with Afghanistan and Nigeria where the polio virus is still endemic.

So far all efforts of the government have failed due to opposition by militants who frequently attack the polio workers and their official deployed for their security.

Militants allege that the anti-polio vaccine is a Western conspiracy to sterilise Muslims though Islamic scholars reject any such allegations.