Number of polio cases hits 46

JAKARTA: Two weeks before a second mass polio immunization drive is scheduled to begin, seven more polio cases have been found, bringing the total number of cases in Indonesia to 46, the World Health Organization reported on Thursday.

Two of the confirmed cases were detected in Sukabumi, West Java, where the crippling virus first appeared last March, the first confirmed cases of polio in the country since 1995, the WHO said.

Five other cases were found in neighboring Bogor and Lebak districts, the organization added in a written report.

The number of cases is expected to increase as the Ministry of Health is still waiting for the results of laboratory tests on some more people suspected of having the disease.

The health ministry, with the support of WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund, conducted the first round of a mass polio vaccination campaign in Banten, Jakarta and West Java, targeting about 6.4 million children.

The second round of the vaccination campaign is scheduled to begin June 28. --JP