Small girl in Afghanistan first to get polio in Kabul in 13 years

KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A 3-year-old girl in Afghanistan has been diagnosed with the first case of polio in the country's capital in 13 years, the Afghan Health Ministry said.

Kaneshka Turkistani, a spokesman for the Afghan Health Ministry, said it was Kabul's first case of polio since 2001. A polio vaccine campaign has been begun in Kabul, CNN reported.

This year, two polio cases were registered so far with the Afghan Health Ministry. Last year, 14 polio cases were registered, Turkistani said.

Three countries in the world have never stopped transmission of polio: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, officials at the World Health Organization said.

The poliovirus can easily be imported into a polio-free country and can spread rapidly among unimmunized populations, WHO said.