Polio Cases Quadruple in Afghanistan

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http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=2307277

KABUL, Afghanistan Aug 13, 2006 (AP)— The number of polio cases in Afghanistan has quadrupled this year, almost entirely in southern provinces shaken by the country's worst fighting in almost five years, officials said Saturday.

Afghanistan has suffered 24 cases so far in 2006, compared to nine cases during the whole of 2005, said Dr. Shukrullah Wahidi, an official with the Ministry of Public Health who oversees the polio program. All cases except one were in the south, he said.

Wahidi blamed the spike in polio cases on the increasing violence, unregulated travel across the border with Pakistan where polio is also a problem, difficulty in establishing local health services and poor communication with community leaders. snip

Dr. Hemlal Sharma, a UNICEF official in charge of the polio program, said the spike in cases this year directly stemmed from children not receiving vaccinations in late 2005 and 2006.