Polio cases: WHO slaps travel restrictions on Pakistan

KARACHI: The World Health on Monday slapped strict travel restrictions on Pakistan due to the rising number of polio cases in the country. The public health arm of the United Nations, issuing its new guidelines to fight the disease, has now made it mandatory for Pakistanis to travel with a polio vaccination certificate. Pakistani citizens will not be allowed to travel abroad without the document certifying that they have been vaccinated for the virus. Pakistan is one of only three countries where the crippling virus is endemic. The other two countries are Nigeria and Afghanistan. Experts discussed various measures to curtail the spread of the virus in a four-day long convention in Geneva organised by the WHO. According to a report issued at the convention, the virus is now seen to be spreading even in countries where it was previously said to have been eradicated. The virus, which spreads by attacking and permanently crippling infants and children, can only be controlled through vaccination.