Polio tally in Pakistan climbs to 70

ISTANBUL

The polio tally last year climbed to 70 in Pakistan, data showed on Friday.

The fresh case in a boy in the coastal city of Karachi was confirmed by the National Institute of Health's Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication, Dawn newspaper reported.

As the number of cases rises, the government has ramped up efforts to curb the spread of the disease and scheduled a vaccination campaign between Feb. 3 and Feb. 9.

Since 2014, the WHO has required all travelers from Pakistan to present a valid polio vaccination certificate before departing the country.

Polio vaccination campaigns have been hampered, particularly in the border regions of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when militant groups attacked staff administering polio drops as well as police officers escorting the vaccinating teams.

These groups perceive the campaigns as part of a larger anti-Muslim and Western conspiracy, and many vaccinators, particularly women, have received death threats.

Nearly 150 people associated with the polio drive have been killed across Pakistan since 2012.