Vaccination delays blamed: Three polio cases surface in Balochistan

Polio campaigns to be launched in three districts.


Mohammad Zafar December 01, 2012

QUETTA:


Three cases of the rare type-2 poliovirus (PV2) were reported in Qilla Abdullah district of Balochistan, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official said on Friday.


Type-2 poliovirus (PV2) was considered to have been eradicated in 1999, but there have been some rare incidents in underdeveloped areas.

The three PV2 cases reported from Qilla Abdullah are among the 10 PV2 cases recorded this year in province, said Mohammedi Mohammed, head of a six-member WHO team which is in Quetta to record incidents of polio virus attacks in Balochistan.

“The delay in launching the anti-polio campaign is as much responsible for the spread of the crippling disease as the virus itself,” Mohammed said. The polio campaign in Balochistan has been delayed for the last two months, he added.

“We had a meeting with Quetta Commissioner Qambar Dashti, Quetta Deputy Commissioner Hashim Ghilzai, Qilla Abdullah Deputy Commissioner Bashir Bangulzai and the Pishin deputy commissioner,” Mohammedi said.

Mohammedi Mohammed

It was resolved during the meeting to launch polio campaigns in Qilla Abdullah, Quetta and Pishin of Balochistan as the polio cases are being reported in these districts.

He said that Balochistan is improving a lot in stemming the polio virus, adding that while 73 polio cases were reported in 2011, only four have been reported so far this year.

The security situation and non cooperation of parents were the main hurdles in polio campaigns across the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2012.

COMMENTS (1)

Nishant | 11 years ago | Reply

Great ...! Now hunt down those "fanatics" who declared the ban on vaccines, and force them to pay for the medical expenditure of these children

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