Polio teams of Punjab’s Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department will pay house-to-house visits to vaccinate over 1.87 million below the age of five in five districts in a campaign beginning on Monday. The campaign will continue till February 18 (Wednesday) and is being held in the wake of persistent positive environmental samples in Multan.
“The Punjab Emergency Operations Centre has decided to hold a campaign in the entire district of Multan, while in Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, Khanewal and Toba Tek Singh, the campaign will be held in selected union councils,” Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Khawaja Imran Nazir said. “The campaign will be held in 35 UCs of Muzaffargarh, 28 UCs of Lodhran, 88 UCs of Khanewal, and 39 UCs of Toba Tek Singh,” the minister added.
“Though Punjab has had no case for a year, persistent circulation of the virus means that our children are at risk,” Khawaja Imran said. Primary and Secondary Healthcare Secretary Ali Jan Khan urged parents to vaccinate their children during the three-day campaign.
Pakistan recorded 20 polio cases in 2016 with 8 in Sindh, 8 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2 in FATA, and 2 in Balochistan. Punjab reported no cases in 2016 and in 2017 so far.
Globally, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the three countries that still report cases of polio.
