PESHAWAR: The national polio eradication program has reported four more poliovirus cases – two each from Bannu and Baluchistan – on Monday morning.
While giving details of cases in the Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emergency operation centre officials said that with the surface of two new cases, the total number of cases in Bannu is now 13 during the ongoing year while the total poliovirus cases in the rest of the province are 36 for the year of 2019.
One of the new cases has been reported from Jani Khel area district Bannu where a 12-month-old girl was diagnosed with the poliovirus. While another case was reported from Fatih Khel area of the district where a 30-month-old boy was diagnosed with the crippling disease virus.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) emergency response operation centre officials have told the media that Bannu decision, especially Bannu district, is the most dangerous area for a child as a number of polio cases has recently been repeated from the district. From district Bannu, the total number of polio cases has now reached to 16, while from the rest of KP 36 cases have been reported.
“The predominant factor amongst majority cases is zero-dose routine immunization and parental refusal to vaccinate their children,” said The Pakistan polio eradication cell officials,” said Iftikhar Firdous, the communication officer at the federal polio eradication program on Twitter.
The Polio eradication program has started an awareness campaign to peacefully persuade parents to vaccinate their children against the crippling diseases and not believe in negative propaganda. The officials said that their aims it to restore public trust in vaccination drivers using innovating communication strategy.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Program has also urged all the Deputy Commissioners to encourage polio teams for honest reporting of vaccine refusals. The officials believe that this is the only way to ascertain fake markings and children missed as without these figures all our hard work is in jeopardy.
