Polio virus disables two more children

PESHAWAR: The polio virus on Friday crippled two more children for life in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It took the total count of polio cases to 61 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 82 in Pakistan.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad notified the new polio cases from Serai Naurang tehsil in Lakki Marwat district. According to officials of the Health Department in Peshawar, two boys, aged 15 months and 22 months respectively were diagnosed with polio virus.

Both the affected children belong to Chandukhel village of Kot Kashmir Union Council in Serai Naurang in Lakki Marwat. The epidemiological study of the children showed that both children didn’t get any dose for essential immunisation while their SIAs history was under investigation.

The entire KP has become a troubling spot for the national and international organisations engaged in polio eradication efforts. And in KP, the situation in southern districts particularly in Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts have become quite challenging.

Majority of the parents in Bannu and Lakki Marwat are stated to have refused polio vaccines to their children due to a host of reasons. Bannu has reported 23 and Lakki Marwat 14 cases this year.

Most of the parents, according to government officials, have been misguided by certain elements, mostly religious segments against polio vaccination.

According to officials, several people, including members of the polio eradication programme in KP and particularly in the troubled spots were responsible for unprecedented rise in polio cases.

They said members of the polio programme had developed an understanding with the refusing parents that they would not file reports against them with the police and the parents would need to allow polio workers to put a fake marking on their fingers.

“This fake finger marking in which both people of the polio programme and parents were involved have hampered efforts to eradicate polio,” said an official of the polio programme in Peshawar.

Coordinator Emergency Operation Centre Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Abdul Basit said polio cases had jumped to 61 in the province with 14 cases from Lakki Marwat and 45 from Bannu division only.