Crippling virus: Preparations for three-day polio drive completed
Over 37,000 children under the age of five will be inoculated during the campaign
The political administration of Orakzai Agency has completed preparations for a three-day immunisation drive to eradicate polio. PHOTO: AFP
HANGU:
The political administration of Orakzai Agency has completed preparations for a three-day immunisation drive to eradicate polio, stated a press release issued on Friday.
“Over 37,000 children under the age of five will be inoculated during the campaign,” the statement quoted Agency Surgeon Dr Muhammad Idrees as saying.
According to Idrees, the political administration has divided the agency into 41 administrative units.
“Around 142 mobile teams and 28 fixed teams have been constituted for the drive,” the press release quoted the agency surgeon as saying.
“We have requested tribal elders and clerics to help the administration eradicate the crippling virus from the region.”
On Thursday, a polio case surfaced from Bannu. This is the fifth case to be reported from the province in 2016. The other four cases have been reported from Bannu, Peshawar, Nowshera and Hangu. At least 10 polio cases have surfaced from Pakistan this year. These include four from Sindh and one from Balochistan.
In 2015, only 16 polio cases surfaced in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Frontier Regions. Of them, a polio case was reported in North Waziristan, two in South Waziristan, two in FR Peshawar and 11 in Khyber Agency.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2016.
The political administration of Orakzai Agency has completed preparations for a three-day immunisation drive to eradicate polio, stated a press release issued on Friday.
“Over 37,000 children under the age of five will be inoculated during the campaign,” the statement quoted Agency Surgeon Dr Muhammad Idrees as saying.
According to Idrees, the political administration has divided the agency into 41 administrative units.
“Around 142 mobile teams and 28 fixed teams have been constituted for the drive,” the press release quoted the agency surgeon as saying.
“We have requested tribal elders and clerics to help the administration eradicate the crippling virus from the region.”
On Thursday, a polio case surfaced from Bannu. This is the fifth case to be reported from the province in 2016. The other four cases have been reported from Bannu, Peshawar, Nowshera and Hangu. At least 10 polio cases have surfaced from Pakistan this year. These include four from Sindh and one from Balochistan.
In 2015, only 16 polio cases surfaced in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Frontier Regions. Of them, a polio case was reported in North Waziristan, two in South Waziristan, two in FR Peshawar and 11 in Khyber Agency.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2016.