Measures being taken to prevent polio virus in boarding districts: Dr Saif
- April 14, 2016, 9:49 pm
- Breaking News
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QUETTA Apr 14 (PPI): Coordinator Emergency Operation Center (EOC) for Polio Balochistan Dr Syed Saifur Rehman has said measures are being taken to prevent the polio virus in boarding districts of Sindh and Punjab.
A meeting focused on controlling the polio virus from travelling into Balochistan was held here at Naseerabad at Commissioner Office to establish permanent vaccination transit points for prevention of the virus travelling in the nomad population.
He shared these views during the Central Pakistan Coordination meeting. Commissioner Ahmed Aziz Sagar , Deputy Commissioner, District Health Officer, members of World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF were present during the meeting.
Briefing the participants, Dr. Saifur Rehman said that there was a frequent movement of the nomadic population between Eastern Balochistan and Northern Sindh and South Punjab which increased the risks of travelling of virus along.
He said that in this regard the officers have been directed to improve the quality of the campaign through micro-planning and micro census, adding that all the district officers of the province have to make efforts in this regard.
He said that the purpose of this campaign was to launch a comprehensive inter-provincial campaign in which the coordination and communication would be synchronized among all three provinces which would help control the spread of polio virus in these areas.
Dr Saifur Rehman said that four districts of Balochistan, which can cause the travelling of virus, include Jafferabad, Naseerabad, Jhal Magsi and Kachhi and are also high risk districts as nomads enter these districts for working in the agricultural fields and at brick kilns. He said that for controlling virus under such circumstances, vaccination centres would be established at fixed points of the frontiers of the province, adding that after the confirmation of the virus existence in Rahim Yar Khan, Jacobabad, and Shikarpur, the campaign at the frontiers has been initiated which aims at improving the coordination with Central Pakistan.
He said that a polio campaign would be launched from 25th of April in 13 districts of Balochistan in which all the DCs would engage to launch the campaign at Union Council level.
In 2016, 10 confirmed Polio cases reported worldwide so far, two in Afghanistan and 8 in Pakistan noting that there were generally fewer cases of polio in the cold winter months.
