Campaign starts in 13 districts

PESHAWAR:

A three-day polio campaign will be kicked off in 13 selected districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The campaign will be conducted in Bannu, Charsadda, DI Khan, Hangu, Karak, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Swat, Tank and Torghar districts, read a statement issued by the health department.

The aim is to inoculate over 3.28 million children under the age of five against the crippling disease. Over 9,875 teams were formed for this purpose. They include 8,444 mobile, 863 fixed and 67 mobile teams. In addition, 502 transit points were also identified for the said purpose, the statement said. It added a follow-up campaign would be held on the fourth day.

Earlier, the department held a campaign in Peshawar, FR Peshawar and Khyber Agency. This was in the wake of a positive sewerage sample collected from Larama in the city. “The samples were obtained after two recent cases were reported from the area. It was found the water carried polio despite the fact that the area was free of the virus for over five months,” officials said.

Over 36 cases have been confirmed this year with 15 from K-P, 11 from the tribal areas, six from Balochistan and four cases from Sindh province.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2015.