Polio refusal cases decline by 70pc in Karachi: Commissioner

MN Report

KARACHI: Claiming that polio vaccine refusal cases have declined by 70 per cent in the city, Commissioner Karachi Asif Hyder Shah said that of the total six polio cases reported across the country during 2016, two were detected in Sindh.

Moreover, efforts are under way to further improve polio vaccination coverage in the city in collaboration with religious scholars, he added.

He was speaking to newsmen at the office of Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), Sindh. The centre’s coordinator Dr Muhammad Usman Chachar, Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali and other officials were also present on this occasion.
Mr Shah informed newsmen that polio refusal cases have been significantly declined from 40,000 to 14,000 in Karachi, while efforts are underway to achieve the target with the help of religious scholars.

He said eradication of polio virus from Pakistan was not possible without eliminating the crippling diseases from Karachi.

He said that the city’s overall security situation has improved considerably in the last two years, while foolproof security was being provided to polio workers.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Muhammad Usman Chachar said that polio was endemic across the world and more than 350,000 cases used to be reported each year, but with launch of Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988, the polio cases had been decreased by 99 per cent across the globe.

He said that Pakistan and Afghanistan are only two countries where polio virus still existed as six cases were reported from Pakistan in 2016 and one from Afghanistan, this year, so far.