Polio vaccination in offing after positive samples

First instance in Rawalpindi district since 2022

RAWALPINDI:

An environmental sample collected from Rawalpindi site has tested positive for polio, with the government set to launch a vaccination drive in the area, the provincial public relations department said in a handout issued Thursday.

“Polio environmental sample collected in July from one of the sites in Rawalpindi has tested positive,” it stated.

The is the first time the district has returned a positive environmental sample since September 2022. It is third sample which has tested positive in Punjab this year.

Rawalpindi district has three environmental sampling sites located at Safdarabad, Dhok Dallal and Serae Kala, which was added to the list in December last year.

“The positive sample in Rawalpindi indicates that the virus is circulating in the region,” said Khizer Afzaal Chaudhary, who heads the provincial polio programme, according to the handout. Even if there haven’t been any positive cases, this is an alarming development, the handout quoted Chaudhary as saying.

“Government is launching a vaccination response in the area to vaccinate every child by administering polio drops to boost their immunity,” Khizer added.

The handout quoted him saying that the positive sample was a threat to children residing in the 200 houses in the vicinity.

While Punjab was yet to report any cases, the positive environmental samples were a reminder that every child must be vaccinated against this debilitating disease, it added.

Punjab has set up 31 polio environmental sampling sites in 19 districts.

Meanwhile, a polio eradication campaign at a refugee camp for Afghan citizens in Mianwali entered its third day on Thursday. The handout said over 2,000 children at the camp had been vaccinated.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2023.