Islamabad, Sep 18 (IANS): The total number of polio cases in Pakistan so far this year has reached 72, after nine fresh cases were detected in Punjab and Balochistan provinces, according to health authorities.

Of the new cases reported on Thursday, seven were of the circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type-2 (cVDPV2), Dawn news reported.

The "outbreak" of cVDPV2 would be a cause of serious concern for global health organisations as Pakistan is among a few countries reporting such cases which have almost been eliminated globally.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cVDPV remained a menace to the end game of polio eradication as it is one of the main causes of re-emerging polio apart from vaccination refusal.

The cVDPV2 was eradicated in 1999, leading to the withdrawal of the polio type 2 vaccine from the worldwide anti-polio programme by the WHO in 2016.

The programme officials may have dumped this vaccine instead of destroying them as par the global protocols, resulting in the resurgence of cVDPV2 cases which was an alarming sign for Pakistan.