Polio: Peshawar reports fourth case

Country’s reported total jumps to 50, officials concerned over effectiveness of Sehat ka Insaf.

PESHAWAR:

With the curtains drawn on the three-month-long Sehat ka Insaf immunisation campaign in Peshawar, a new polio case has emerged from the district, raising concern among health officials that the virus is still thriving.

Six-month-old Zainab, resident of Ahmedkhel, is the latest victim, pushing the country’s reported total to 50 in 2014.

According to an official of the provincial health department, Zainab had been vaccinated during Sehat ka Insaf but still contracted the virus.

“Zainab’s diagnosis has caused an alarm among health officials because despite the government’s massive expenditure on the campaign the polio virus still exists in Peshawar,” he said.

The health official added an investigation has been initiated to identify the strain of the virus and the area it is genetically linked to. Dr Imtiaz, the focal person of the Chief Minister’s Polio Monitoring Cell, confirmed to The Express Tribune that Zainab had been vaccinated four times during Sehat ka Insaf.

Commenting on the virus’s presence in the district despite the immunisation campaign, Dr Imtiaz said, “After the results of the latest environmental water samples collected from Shaheen Muslim Town and Larama UCs a month ago are available, we will be able to confirm its presence.”

Incidentally, in the press briefing after the 11th round of the campaign, Minister for Health Shahram Tarakai had claimed that Peshawar had been cleansed of polio. He further said even though the last environmental water samples tested positive for the virus, the strain was genetically linked to Afghanistan and Bara, Khyber Agency.

So far, 39 polio cases have been reported from Fata, eight from K-P and three from Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2014.