PESHAWAR:
With seven more polio cases reported from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Saturday, this year’s total has reached 283, leaving Pakistan just 17 cases shy of 300.
Four of the infected children belong to the tribal areas while three are from K-P. Two of these belong to Peshawar while the third is from Swat – the second child affected by the crippling virus this year in the district which remained polio-free for five years.
Crippled futures
The presence of the virus has been confirmed in 13-month-old Rehan, a resident of Tarogay village, union council Shalpin, Khwazakhela tehsil of Swat. Rehan is from the same family as the first victim from Swat this year. Two children from Peshawar also tested positive for the poliovirus, however, further details could not be obtained till this report was filed.
From Fata, 11-month-old Eid Gul who lives in Toi Khwla village in South Waziristan Agency has been infected, while five-month-old Ihtesham of Shakas, Khyber Agency and 21-month-old Abdul Mateen from Bara tehsil of the agency have also suffered the same fate. The third case was reported from the agency late Saturday evening.
An official of the FATA Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) while confirming the cases from Fata said the children from Khyber have not received a single dose of the oral polio vaccine.
“These children belong to areas that have not been visited by polio teams for the past three years due to fear of the Taliban,” he said.
Although a large number of children who migrated from North Waziristan have been vaccinated in Bannu, DI Khan, Kohat and Peshawar, many still remain unvaccinated, said the EPI official.
He added immunisation teams are still not able to access certain areas of Bara in Khyber Agency, depriving thousands of children from the crucial polio drops.
Polio in Swat
Speaking about Swat’s second polio case of the year, Dr Imtiaz Khan, the technical focal person for polio eradication to K-P chief minister, said this is the second case from the district in five years.
The first polio victim was 21-month-old Abu Takha from Tarogay village in Khwazakhela and the second victim belongs to the same family, said Dr Khan.
According to Khan, an investigation has revealed that many members of this family live in Karachi and they travel between the two cities regularly. “However, the genetic link of the virus can only be confirmed once we get the results of the genetic test,” said Dr Khan.
Commenting on the efforts to eradicate poliovirus from Swat, Dr Khan said a drive was conducted on December 8 and two more will be conducted in the upcoming weeks in the entire district, under the supervision of the Swat DC.
The national count stands at 283. Of these 173 are from Fata, 63 from K-P, 27 from Sindh, 17 from Balochistan and three from Punjab.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2014.
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