Polio is delayed in some districts due to difficult weather conditions – Pakistan

Ikram Junaidi

ISLAMABAD: The first national polio campaign in 2019, scheduled for Monday, was fully postponed in 21 districts and partially in 14 districts due to poor weather conditions.

According to a press release issued by the National Center for Emergency Operations (IOC) in Islamabad, the campaign was reportedly reported in 21 districts – one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, five in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, four to Gilgit-Baltistan, nine in Sind and Punjab and Islamabad.

According to the details provided by the EOC, the districts where the campaign has been completely postponed are: Chitral in KP; Bagh, Poonch, Sadnuti, Haveli and Neelam in AJK; Astore, Ghizer, Hunza and Nagar in Britain; Shikarpur, Naushahro Feroze, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Qambar, Jacobabad, Matiari, Hyderabad and Tando Allahyar in Sindh; Rawalpindi in Punjab and Islamabad.

The campaign has been partially postponed in 14 districts. These are: Mansehra, Abbottabad, Upper Dir, Swat and Lakki Marwat at KP; Jhelum Valley to AJK; Pure Sohbat in Balochistan; Skardu in GB; and Sanghar, Thatta, Badin, Kashmore, Sukkur and Umerkot in Sindh.

EOC coordinator, Ms. Rana Mohammad Safdar, praised the commitment of front-line workers to brave all the difficulties and reach the maximum number of children in this crucial national campaign.

"The national WCC in coordination with the provinces and districts is monitoring the progress of the campaign across the country. The door-to-door vaccination campaign in all the deferred districts will be conducted as soon as the weather improves, "he said.

A polio eradication program official, asking not to be quoted, said it was unfortunate that the campaign was launched despite the forecast of rain and snow.

It is worth mentioning that poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus, which mainly affects children under five. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. Although poliomyelitis can not be cured, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this debilitating disease.

Whenever a child under five is vaccinated, its protection against the virus is enhanced. Repeated vaccinations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost every country in the world to get rid of polio.

In 2018, no less than 12 cases of wild poliovirus were reported in the country: three in Duki district in Balochistan, one in Charsadda, one in Lakki Marwat in KP, one in Gadap, Karachi, one in Khyber and five cases at the Bajaur tribe KP district.

This indicates an overall reduction of 97% in the annual number of polio cases from the peak of 306 recorded in 2014.

Despite this important achievement, the poliovirus has managed to find a way to survive. During the month of December, samples of wastewater collected in Karachi, Peshawar, Bannu, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Qilla Abdullah, Pishin and Quetta were tested positive for poliovirus.

Posted in Dawn, January 22, 2019