Anti-polio plan devised

LAHORE:The Primary and Secondary (P&S) Healthcare Department on Thursday prepared a plan for elimination of polio virus from the province.

The P&S healthcare secretary said that the department had decided to administrate polio vaccine to children at the entry points of Punjab. The process would be monitored through CCTV cameras after their installation. Ten extra monitoring points would be established at railway stations. Serious action would be taken against the guardians/parents who refused to administer vaccine to their children.

The health secretary said some areas had been considered as “red zone” where polio virus had been found in sewage. For the red zone areas, extra teams have been formed to ensure administration of polio vaccine to children.

Meanwhile, the health secretary stated 196 sewage samples were screened while 83 samples were tested positive for polio virus across the province. Five polio cases have been reported so far in the current year, he said. One case in January, two in April and two polio cases were reported.