Polio threat: Five new cases surface in FATA, attacks continue
A female anti-polio worker and a child were injured in a grenade attack in Pashtunabad.
Health official says anti-polio vaccine was not administered to these children. PHOTO: FILE
QUETTA/PESHAWAR:
A total of five new cases of polio surfaced in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Saturday.
A health department official confirmed the number of cases and said four of the cases were reported from North Waziristan Agency and one from South Waziristan Agency.
The infected children from North Waziristan were identified as 10-month-old Israr, 18-month-old Dilshad, 18-month-old Nabila and 24-month-old Shahidullah.
In South Waziristan, 12-month-old Kainat Bibi was infected with the virus.
The health official said anti-polio vaccine was not administered to these children.
Polio worker attacked
A female anti-polio worker and a child were injured in a grenade attack in Pashtunabad area on the outskirts of Quetta, Express News reported Sunday.
This is the latest incident in the continued attacks on anti-polio workers in the country.
Yesterday, anti-polio drive in-charge Zahir Shah was killed and another official was injured when unidentified men opened fire at Civil Hospital Mattani in Peshawar.
“Routine immunisation of children was going on in the hospital at the time of the attack,” Provincial health minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Shaukat Ali had stated.
The attacks come despite a recent fatwa by a prominent religious scholar, who urged parents to immunise their children against polio and other life-threatening diseases and said vaccinations were compliant with Sharia.
Gunmen have frequently attacked polio vaccination workers, accusing them of being Western spies and part of a plot to sterilise Muslims.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic, but efforts to stamp out the crippling disease have been hit by repeated attacks on health teams.
A global eradication campaign has reduced polio cases by 99.9 per cent in the last three decades, but it remains endemic in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The disease is highly infectious and can cause irreversible paralysis.
Officials blame the violence and suspicions about the vaccine for a surge in cases. According to the World Health Organisation, Pakistan recorded 72 cases of polio this year compared to 58 in 2012.
A total of five new cases of polio surfaced in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Saturday.
A health department official confirmed the number of cases and said four of the cases were reported from North Waziristan Agency and one from South Waziristan Agency.
The infected children from North Waziristan were identified as 10-month-old Israr, 18-month-old Dilshad, 18-month-old Nabila and 24-month-old Shahidullah.
In South Waziristan, 12-month-old Kainat Bibi was infected with the virus.
The health official said anti-polio vaccine was not administered to these children.
Polio worker attacked
A female anti-polio worker and a child were injured in a grenade attack in Pashtunabad area on the outskirts of Quetta, Express News reported Sunday.
This is the latest incident in the continued attacks on anti-polio workers in the country.
Yesterday, anti-polio drive in-charge Zahir Shah was killed and another official was injured when unidentified men opened fire at Civil Hospital Mattani in Peshawar.
“Routine immunisation of children was going on in the hospital at the time of the attack,” Provincial health minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Shaukat Ali had stated.
The attacks come despite a recent fatwa by a prominent religious scholar, who urged parents to immunise their children against polio and other life-threatening diseases and said vaccinations were compliant with Sharia.
Gunmen have frequently attacked polio vaccination workers, accusing them of being Western spies and part of a plot to sterilise Muslims.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic, but efforts to stamp out the crippling disease have been hit by repeated attacks on health teams.
A global eradication campaign has reduced polio cases by 99.9 per cent in the last three decades, but it remains endemic in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The disease is highly infectious and can cause irreversible paralysis.
Officials blame the violence and suspicions about the vaccine for a surge in cases. According to the World Health Organisation, Pakistan recorded 72 cases of polio this year compared to 58 in 2012.