Two more polio cases surface in Bannu

Total number of cases reach 15 in country with K-P alone bearing 10

PESHAWAR: With two more cases coming to the fore in Bannu on Saturday, the total number of polio cases in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have reached 10. While in the country, the number has touched 15.

“Of the 10 cases, five have been reported in Bannu, two in North Waziristan and one each in Bajaur, Hangu and Khyber district so far in 2019,” said provincial government officials on Sunday.

“The virus has been detected from the sewage of Peshawar, Bannu, Mardan, Dera Ismail Khan and South Waziristan districts,” they added.

An official communiqué from the federal capital to the Emergency Operation Centre Peshawar stated that the Peshawar incident in April last month had increased the risk of children contracting the poliovirus in the province.

In April, protesters burnt down a health facility in Peshawar following reports that multiple children had fallen sick after being administered anti-polio vaccine.

The protest was triggered by hearsay as medics at Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital, where most of the children were taken, said that an overwhelming majority of them were fine.

The protesters mobbed the Basic Health Unit Mashokhel and ransacked the premises before setting it on fire.

No one was hurt as the staff had left before the protesters reached there. However, the untoward incident has created panic among the polio teams.

The letter from Focal Person to the Prime Minister on Polio Babar bin Atta stated that the current situation needed to be dealt with efficiently and aggressively through collective efforts by all stakeholders.

The letter also stated that the main responsibility was on the shoulders of the respective district management.

In order to deliberate on the ongoing polio situation in the province, especially in Peshawar and Bannu, a high-level delegation, headed by the federal minister of state for national health services, is expected to visit Peshawar on Wednesday.

Atta has issued directions for holding a meeting of the provincial task force on polio eradication on the same day. The members of the task force, including provincial health minister, chief secretary, K-P IG police, Peshawar commissioner, have been directed to participate in the meeting.