KABUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A fresh positive polio case were detected in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar, bringing the number of confirmed cases of poliovirus to eight since January this year, a public health official said Wednesday.
"A new polio case has been reported from Watapur district of Kunar Province which permanently paralyzed a three-month-old boy," Wahidullah Mayar, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, tweeted.
The latest case is the first case from the eastern Afghan region this year and the rest of seven cases have been reported from southern provinces, he added.
Poliovirus can be rapidly transferred and the only preventable way was vaccination, according to the official.
The ongoing insurgency and conflicts have been hindering the efforts to stamp out the infectious disease in the mountainous country as more than 1 million children from areas inaccessible to vaccination teams missed the latest vaccination drive.
