Pakistan reports 7th polio case of this year amid outbreak

By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani health authorities have confirmed the seventh case of polio so far this year, saying it was registered in the country’s former Taliban stronghold in the northwest, a region bordering Afghanistan. The outbreak, after the first polio case of 2022 was registered in the same region in April, is a blow to the Islamic nation’s efforts to eradicate the disease, which can cause severe paralysis in children. An investigating is underway into the outbreak. Pakistan’s health minister issued a statement on Friday, saying authorities were taking steps to protect the gains made by the government’s polio eradication program in recent years. He urged parents to get their children vaccinated.