Anti-polio drive in snowbound areas suspended

MANSEHRA: The anti-polio drive in snowbound parts of the Mansehra district has been suspended until clearance of roads. “Though our ongoing anti-polio drive is a success across the district, we left snowbound union councils until the snow melted there and roads were cleared,” Dr Shahzad Ali Khan, the district health officer, told reporters on Tuesday. He said the polio teams had reached Kaghan and Konsh and Siran valleys despite inclement weather. However, the heavy snowfall hampered their efforts, he added. Dr Shahzad said that a total of 302,055 children were being administered anti-polio drops. And to achieve the target as many as 1012 teams including 885 mobile, 81 fixed, 33 transit, 13 roaming were constituted, he added. The district health officer said that the ongoing three days polio drive, which was launched on January 21, would be followed by another polio drive in the snow-hit union councils.