(MENAFN- Tribal News Network) PESHAWAR: Two more polio cases have surfaced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after which the number of polio cases in the province this year has mounted to 48.
According to the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) the two cases have been reported from Serai Naurang area of Lakki Marwat and Jed Baba area of Torghar. The EOC said a two-and-a-half years old girl has been infected in Lakki Marwat who was not administered polio vaccine. In Torghar, a two-year-old child has been diagnosed with poliovirus.
With the emergence of two new polio cases, the number of polio cases in KP has increased to 48 this year and 62 in Pakistan.
The EOC Coordinator Abdul Basit said the main reason behind emergence of recent polio cases is refusal of the parents to administer polio drops to their children. He said the problem can be overcome if all the parents cooperate with the vaccination teams and not even a single child misses vaccination. The EOC coordinator said polio vaccine is safe in every respect. He said parents should not pay heed to negative propaganda against polio vaccination and save their children from the crippling disease by fully cooperating with the vaccination teams.
Recently, the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of World Health Organisation (WHO) on Polio Eradication declared Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a major barrier to polio eradication efforts in Pakistan.
The TAG, which is the main evaluation body, said the parallel system of polio eradication in KP is one of the main reasons behind the failure of the system. The TAG said the EOC of KP is not aligned with the EOC in the Centre and roles and responsibilities of the EOC in KP are not clear. It said the KP polio programme must be reset as the current mechanism of different strategic approaches to polio vaccination programmes, particularly in far off areas, is not working.
The KP government has taken several actions to control the spread of polio virus including blocking the identity cards of refusing parents, sacking the negligent staff and acting against those who make propaganda against vaccination. However, the desired results could not be achieved due to reasons probably pointed out by the TAG.
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