Punjab’s polio risk districts test negative

Samples taken from 20 areas found virus-free

LAHORE:

In a rare feat achieved by the Punjab Polio Programme, all environmental sites have tested negative for the crippling virus. The samples were taken from 20 sites in 12 high risk districts of Punjab in March. As per a handout released by the Punjab Polio Programme, environmental samples taken from Multan, Lahore, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Faisalabad and Sargodha have tested negative. “Samples turning out negative are a great accomplishment achieved by the hardworking polio workers and their supervisors,” said Sundas Irshad, the head of the Polio Programme in Punjab. “Punjab has not seen any child being affected with polio since October, which is a testament that we are moving in the right direction in the war against the disabling virus,” she highlighted. She further said that the feat does not mean that the war against polio has been won. “We will continue to vaccinate children belonging to mobile and high-risk communities travelling to and from the province,” she added.