Polio vigilance urged in Lahore, South Punjab

LAHORE:

A decline in poliovirus circulation has been observed across Punjab, reflecting improved population immunity.

Chairing a review meeting of the province's four polio high-risk districts, Punjab Polio Eradication Programme head Adeel Tasawur credited district teams for the reduction in positive environmental samples. The meeting was attended by senior health officials from Lahore, Rawalpindi, Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan. He cautioned that poliovirus is still present in the environment, urging continued vigilance, particularly in Rawalpindi, Lahore and South Punjab.

He stressed that key performance indicators of polio campaigns need strengthening, especially the frontline worker training, microplanning for mobile and transient populations, and monitoring in remote and hard-to-reach areas. He also emphasised the importance of openly reporting and addressing operational challenges, advising districts against concealing issues faced during campaigns.

"Any manipulation of polio data will not be tolerated," he warned.

He noted that hiding information about missed children can result in renewed virus transmission, and directed teams to immediately cover all zero-dose and missed children with vaccination.

The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) coordinator instructed the district teams to strengthen coverage plans for riverine areas of South Punjab and ensure intensive focus on coverage during catch-up days.