EOC says campaign will be re-launched on May 22
PESHAWAR
Anti-polio campaign in 20 districts has been suspended due to poor law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said a press statement.
According to a statement issued by Emergency Operation Center (EOC) in the province, the drive has been suspended due to security reasons and threats to polio teams in the targeted districts of the province.
The campaign, which began today Monday, was to administer anti-polio vaccines to over 3.5 million children in Charsadda, Mohmand, Bajaur, Swat, Hangu and other districts of KP. The officials of the EOC have said that the program will be re-launched on May 22.
This year, one polio case has been reported from in the province. The latest victim of the disease is hailing from Banny district, according to NIH. In 2022, 20 polio cases were reported in KP. Among them, 17 polio cases have surfaced from North Waziristan, two from Lakki Marwat, and one case was reported from South Waziristan.
It is pertinent to mention here that despite all out efforts, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has detected wild poliovirus in an environmental sample from KP’s district South Waziristan.
Every month, the polio programme tests for poliovirus at 114 fixed environmental sites in Pakistan. To further enhance surveillance in high-risk areas, it has also been collecting additional sewage samples from multiple sites in southern KP periodically, and this latest detection is from one such collection site.
