ISLAMABAD: With yet another polio case reported in Pakistan, bringing the total number of affected children to 11, officials said on Monday that they would be intensifying the campaign to rid the country off the virus.

According to data from the government run “End Polio Pakistan” website, three new polio cases have been registered from the Punjab province, one from Sindh, and seven others from the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province and its tribal districts.

Polio is prevalent in only three countries in the world, namely Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. It is a highly-infectious disease which impacts children below five years of age.

Pakistan, for its part, has been running massive anti-polio campaigns across the country. However, the iniative got derailed on several occasions in the past due to militants targeting health workers and on account of a deep mistrust among parents in certain parts of the country.

“Vaccinating all children under five in every campaign is important to reach full immunity against the virus,” Babar bin Atta, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio told Arab News.

He added that efforts were underway to nip the disease in its bud, especially since there was no cure for the crippling medical condition.

“We have already started a bottom-up approach...to reposition Pakistan’s anti-polio program and make it more acceptable for parents, especially in the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province where we are facing the maximum resistance,” Atta told Arab News.

He added that the government was also working on a policy to counter negative propaganda against the initiative.

Pakistan has made significant progress in limiting the spread of the virus in the country, which has resulted in the number of polio cases dropping to 11 this year from the more than 300 reported in 2014.