Minister vows to fight poliovirus till the very end.

ISLAMABAD -- National Health Services (NHS) Minister Qadir Patel has said Pakistan's polio programme continued to work extremely hard to reach zero polio, and the recent cases in Pakistan have made the government more determine to fight this virus till the very end.

'Since the first case appeared, the health ministry and the polio programme have been working very closely together to meet the needs of the hour and effectively interrupt poliovirus transmission,' the health minister said while speaking at the fifth meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks.

According to a statement issued by the health ministry on Wednesday, the meeting held in Cairo on Tuesday night and Pakistani health minister online participated in it from Islamabad. The meeting was convened by WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari.

According to the health ministry, the last two polio endemic countries in the world, Afghanistan and Pakistan, have reported 11 wild polio cases this year, with 10 cases in Pakistan and one in Afghanistan. All of Pakistan's cases have appeared in North Waziristan.

'The continued presence of any circulating poliovirus in any...