Pakistan has reported six polio cases in 2023, media reports said, as the country continues to struggle to control the disease.

A nine-month-old fema­­le child has been paralysed by poliovirus, bringing the number of cases reported this year to six, reports Dawn News.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Era­dication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has notified that the virus was detected in a nine-month-old child from Orakzai district, the newspaper reported.

“I am deeply saddened that this virus has robbed yet another child of the opportunity to live a healthy life and to live up to its potential,” Federal Minister for Health Dr Nadeem Jan told the newspaper.

“This is a stark remi­n­der that until we eradicate this virus, this disease will continue to remain a persistent threat, not just to our children but children across the world,” he added.

Twenty environmental samples were collected from 12  districts which tested positive for  wild poliovirus type 1.