Federal Health Secretary Khushnood Akhtar Lashari has issued a warning to the provincial ministries that their people were facing the risk of exposure to the polio virus and has directed them to reactivate their polio control teams to curb the menace before it gets out of control.
According to top health officials the warning was issued following a recent survey during which the polio virus was detected in the sewerage works of Karachi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Charsadda, Jacobabad, Karak, Swabi, Batgram and Mohmand Agency.
The health secretary has sought a strategy from the provincial health ministries to control the virus in their respective provinces and told them to speed up the polio vaccination programme and the primary health care injection course for infants.
Sources said that due to recent attacks by militant against the polio teams in various parts of the country, the polio vaccination campaign was not completed, resulting in an increase in the number of polio cases.
However, no proper strategy has been made by the authorities to ensure safety of the polio teams in the areas where they were targeted.