Pakistan reported 11 new cases of polio on a single day last week, bringing this year’s official count to 138, a four-fold increase from last year, as the crippling disease spreads amid Islamist militancy and suspicion.
All the cases were reported in the north, Ayesha Raza Farooq, head of the Prime Minister’s Monitoring & Coordination Cell for Polio, said by phone in Islamabad. Eight came from tribal areas that lie on the border with Afghanistan.
