Polio cases quadruple in southern Afghan provinces; 24 cases reported so far this year

(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.

Insurgent violence erupted across the south this spring, killing more than 900 people. Eleven NATO troops have died there since the alliance took charge of security this month.

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.

The virus invades the nervous system, can cause permanent paralysis within hours, and can be fatal.

About 1,880 people were sickened by polio worldwide last year, down from more than 350,000 before 1988, when WHO launched a global anti-polio campaign, according to the agency.