Poliovirus transmission:

KP to hold coordinated campaigns with Afghanistan

By Bureau report

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to hold coordinated polio campaigns with Afghanistan to prevent transmission/circulation of the virus in the two regions, a top health official said.

“Pakistan and Afghanistan have shared the same epidemiological block and the decision to conduct campaigns on the same day with Afghanistan would not only minimise the risk of missed children who are on the move but also address the issue of virus transmission in the region,” said Secretary Health Abid Majeed while inaugurating the special inactivated polio vaccination (IPV) drive at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) here.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Coordinator Atif Rehman, Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Coordinator Dr Shafiq, Deputy DHO Peshawar, Dr Ikhtiyar Ali, LRH Director Dr Khalid Masood, representative of the pediatric association Dr Sabir Khan, Unicef team leader Dr Johar and Technical Focal Person BMGF Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah were also present.

The official said the special eight-day IPV campaign would start in Peshawar from tomorrow. He said over two million children aged four to 23-month would be vaccinated with IPV.

He said oral polio vaccine (OPV) would also be administered to the children to safeguard them against polio and prevent virus circulation in the district.

Abid Majeed said polio transmission had been stopped using IPV and OPV combination in other countries.

In reply to a query regarding handshake intervention, the secretary health said that teams from Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa start vaccinating children in their respective areas to ensure that no child was missed in the bordering areas between the settled and the tribal belt.

Atif Rehman said that polio eradication was the top priority of the government and IPV campaign was part of the efforts to prevent virus transmission.

He said 236,531 children between the age group of 4 to 23 months would be immunised with IPV whereas children from zero to 23 months would also be given OPV.

The EOC coordinator said outreach sites had been identified for the campaign and trained skilled persons would inoculate the children.

He said that more than 2,000 vaccinators would be deployed at various points for the IPV campaign. He added that special security arrangements had been made for the drive.

Atif added that IPV strengthened immunity of children.

Dr Sabir Khan said that IPV was injectable vaccine and built the immunity of children and protected them from paralysis.