An Afghan health worker gives a polio vaccine to a child in Kandahar city, capital of southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan, Dec. 20, 2017. The number of polio cases recorded in Afghanistan has risen to 12 this year with a new confirmed case in last week, a local newspaper, Daily Outlook Afghanistan, reported on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Sanaullah Seiam)
KABUL, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of polio cases recorded in Afghanistan has risen to 12 this year with a new confirmed case in last week, a local newspaper, Daily Outlook Afghanistan, reported on Tuesday.
One case of wild polio virus was detected in Shah Wali Kot district, southern Kandahar province in last week, bringing to five the number of the polio virus cases in Kandahar and the nationwide number total to 12 in the outgoing year, the report said.
After the detection of the fresh case, the Afghan ministry of public health, supported by the UN agencies of UNICEF and WHO, launched on Monday, a three-day mass vaccination campaign in several provinces including Kandahar.
The campaign will deliver oral polio vaccines to over 5.5 million children.
The ongoing insurgency and conflicts have been hindering the efforts to stamp the infectious disease out in the mountainous country.
