Online
Lahore
Two new polio cases were reported in Punjab Tuesday. Eight children have been affected by the virus in the province so far this year, says in media reports.
The new cases were of an eight-month-old boy in Dera Ghazi Khan and a 13-month-old in Bahawalpur. It is suspected that these children were missed during previous immunisation campaigns. The Punjab health department has announced strict action against any polio vaccinator found guilty of negligence.
The Primary and Secondary Healthcare department said if a case emerges from a district in the future, polio teams of that area will be penalised. Those leading the campaigns in DG Khan, Hafizabad and Chiniot have been given a final warning by the health department.
The secretary also added that parents of 16,000 children had refused the polio vaccine. Pakistan has now reported a total of 67 wild polio cases this year. The highest number of cases have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has recorded 22 cases, while Sindh reported 21 cases, Balochistan 16 and AJK, GB and Islamabad zero.
