KABUL, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in eastern Afghanistan confirmed six new cases of wild poliovirus in the past month, underscoring persistent challenges in one of the world's last two endemic countries.
The infections were detected in Bati Kot, Behsud, Rodat and Chaparhar districts, as well as Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province, with an additional case reported in neighboring Kunar province, said Mawlawi Aminullah Sharif, head of the Nangarhar provincial public health department, on Sunday.
Sharif attributed the rise primarily to the large-scale return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
In response to the outbreak, local health authorities have intensified vaccination campaigns across the affected provinces in coordination with international partners.
Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only countries where transmission of the wild virus persists. ■
