K-P govt begins administering IPV to eradicate polio

Efforts focused on 267 UCs identified as ‘high risk’ in the region

PESHAWAR:

To bolster the campaign to eradicate polio from the region, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) health department has now begun administering the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) across the province.

In addition to using the oral polio vaccine (OPV), the K-P government recently introduced IPV; though it does not kill the virus, IPV enhances the immune system of a child against the disease if he or she is already hosting the virus, experts told The Express Tribune.



The government has increased its efforts to eradicate polio in areas where the problem seems to be on the rise. “We have shortlisted union councils (UCs) at high-risk for the spread of the disease, mostly Afghan refugee and displaced persons camps for North Waziristan Agency residents [since campaigns could not be carried out in NWA],” a government official said, requesting anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The official said the recent IPV campaign started on June 1. The department is focusing its efforts on high-risk UCs, he said, adding that the total number of high-risk UCs was around 267.

“[The high-risk UCs] include areas where the population mostly comprises Afghan refugees or areas from where polio cases are frequently reported. These areas also include places where we consider the situation not in favour of holding polio campaigns due to possible militant attacks on polio teams,” he said.

An Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) official said 0.42 million children will receive IPV injections across the province throughout the duration of the campaign.

He said the campaign began in refugee camps and in Bannu but was later expanded to Peshawar.

Seeing its success in some parts of Peshawar, “We launched [the campaign] across the province. However, our efforts are mostly centered on the high-risk UCs,” he added.

On May 6, the health department officials announced plans to conduct IPV campaigns in addition to administering OPV across the province upon the recommendations of World Health Organization (WHO) which said countries using only OPV should also start administering at least one doze of IPV along with it.

The children who have already been vaccinated against polio via OPV will also receive IPV doses.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2015.