The Ministry of Health has asked the provinces to effectively run awareness the campaigns to educate parents to administer anti-polio drops to their children, during the national drive. According to an official of Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), district health managers have been directed to properly manage the immunisation drives following the strategy of Ministry of Health.
He said the ministry has issued direction after receiving complaints from the citizens that district health teams mostly miss the children during anti-polio drives. He said district health managers have been asked to ensure 100 percent coverage during the polio drive to vaccinate children to protect them from the crippling disease.
The EPI official said due to law and order situation, health teams could not continue the anti-polio drive in Swat, which resulted in the increase in polio cases in the area. He however said that now, after improvement in the situation, polo drops were administered to children in Swat in last polio eradication drive.
He further said polio vaccines being used in the country are safe and effective and are produced internationally, while WHO has approved its quality. The vaccine is the same that has been used in most parts of the world to eradicate polio including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, he added.
He informed that UN agencies, partners, donor governments, the private sector and foundations have extended all possible support to ensure that necessary resources are available to ensure a polio free Pakistan.
According to health experts, polio is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted through contaminated food and water, and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system. They said initial symptoms of polio included fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. In a small proportion of cases, the disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent.