(MENAFN- Afghanistan Times) AT News Report
KABUL: Two new polio cases have surfaced separately in
capital city of Tirinkot and Chora district of southern Uruzgan province, a
statement from the relevant ministry said Sunday.
A 30-month-old child and another six-month-old infant were
permanently paralyzed as a result of the polio virus.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Public
Health (MoPH), the total number of polio cases in 2019 reached 15 with the two
new cases, saying all of these cases had been reported from inaccessible areas.
'Fourteen out of the 15 polio cases this year have been
reported from the southern region of Afghanistan,' the statement said, adding
'Seven positive cases came from Uruzgan, five from Helmand and two other from
Kandahar.'
Only one out of 12 polio cases was reported from eastern
Kunar province while the rest happened in the southern zone.
'Access to health services is the right of every
citizen of the country,' said Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz, the Minister of Public
Health.
'We are deeply concerned about the increasing polio cases
and the number of children who still don't have consistent and proper access to
vaccination,' he added.
He said the virus could spread further in the country
and more children would be affected and paralyzed by polio virus.
He called upon people to 'work together and protect innocent
children against polio and facilitate a safe and secure environment for our
frontline workers in order to enable them administer vaccine drops to children
in every nook and cranny of the country.'
Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious
disease. There is no cure and the vaccine is the only safe and effective way to
protect children.
The polio vaccine is safe and harmless – for newborn children
whether they are sick or not. It is very important that newborns and sick
children get the vaccine because they may have lower immunity which makes them
more susceptible to the virus.
Polio vaccination has also been strongly endorsed by
national and global Islamic scholars.
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