Child getting polio drops (file photo)

WHO: Most of Afghanistan is polio-free but wild poliovirus is still circulating in parts of the country, particularly in the Eastern, Southern and South-Eastern regions. The transmission in the East illustrates the importance of common reservoir transmission between Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA and the area bordering Afghanistan. In 2016, 12 wild poliovirus cases were confirmed: four from Kunar province, six from Paktika, one from Helmand and one from Kandahar. In 2015, Afghanistan reported 20 confirmed polio cases, compared to 28 cases in 2014 and 14 cases in 2013. One polio case has been reported as of 15 January 2017 from Paktika province. Click here to read more (external link).