Islamabad, Nov 5 (IANS): Pakistan reported one new case of polio in the country's southwestern Balochistan province, bringing the total number of the disease-infected children to 46 since the beginning of this year, the health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed the detection of another wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case in Pakistan's Qila Saifullah district of Balochistan.

This is the second polio case reported in Qila Saifullah, where several environmental samples have tested positive for WPV1, said the health ministry, adding that so far, 23 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from the southern Sindh province, nine from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from the eastern Punjab province and the federal capital Islamabad.

"Balochistan is the most affected province this year ... This high number of cases is indicative of the harm that children suffer from missed vaccination opportunities," said the ministry, Xinhua news agency reported.

Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to keeping them protected, it added.