QUETTA: Despite frequent polio eradication drives across the country, three more cases of polio were reported in Balochistan on Thursday.
Coordinator of Emergency Operation Centre Rashid Razzaq, while addressing a press conference along with religious clerics in Quetta, said three cases have been reported of the crippling disease of polio in Balochistan so far this year.
“As many as 25 million children will be administered anti-polio drops, in the drive that will be launched in the province from December 10,” said Razzaq.
The National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for Polio Eradication on October 17, notified two new polio cases from Gadap area of Karachi and a tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The first case of polio was confirmed in a 42-month-old girl from Gadap, Karachi and the other case in a 55-month old female child in Khyber tribal district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The lab detected Polio virus from their stool samples on the 1st of October and 30th September respectively. Fortunately, both girls had received multiple doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) which boosted their immunity and protected them from a life-long paralysis.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the spread of polio and termed it an international health emergency.
ANTI-POLIO DRIVE FROM DEC 10:
A three days anti-polio campaign will be kicked off in the majority of districts of Balochistan from December 10, in which more than 2.5 million children will be administered polio drops.
Razzaq said a total of 10,356 teams were formed in which 8829 mobile teams, 951 fixed points 576 transit points for ensuring administer polio drops to children below the age of five across the province at door to door.
“Security arrangement for the anti-polio campaign has been finalised across the province as Balochistan Frontier Corps, Police and Leveis personnel are taking part in providing security to the polio staff,” Razzaq said.
He said this year only eight polio cases have been reported in Pakistan in which three of them were surfaced in Duk area of Balochistan.
Razzaq said anti-polio campaign would be continued for five days in respective areas of province including Quetta, Pishin and Qila Abdullah in order to eradicate such diseases.
He said these areas were near to Afghanistan border because polio viruses could be controlled in process of migration of family children to Afghanistan and other areas of Balochistan.
“Our polio teams had been deployed at borders areas to examine children during journey for ensuring controlling of polio viruses,” he said.
He claimed two kinds of polio viruses including Kahndar area of Afghanistan and Karachi were appeared in Balochistan after testing.
Razzaq mentioned all out efforts are being continued to end polio diseases from the province but it was also a responsibility of all segment of society including stakeholders, teachers, parents and religious scholars to play their vital role to administer polio drops to their children for saving them from such dangerous diseases.
He regretted that polio campaign had been launching in Balochistan since 1994 but still polio cases were reported in the respective areas while such diseases in some countries had been eliminated in two or three of polio drives.
He also appreciated the role of media and religious scholars for playing their important responsibility for making successful polio drives in order to reduce viruses of polio in the respective areas of Balochistan.
Maulana Anwar-ul Haq said scholars are cooperating with polio teams at every forum, aiming to control polio diseases in the province.