Drive against poliovirus type 2 kick started in KPK

PESHAWAR: According to reports, the government is launching a three-day special vaccination campaign recently to scale up children’s immunity in districts, which risked vaccine-derive poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) after detection of cases a fortnight ago.

Earlier, the VDPV2 was eradicated worldwide, however, after emergence of back to back cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the government requested the world health agency to make supplies of the vaccines available to be administered to the children from where cases were reported.

Pakistan has tested positive 18 children for PV2 virus, prompting the authorities to request to the World Health Organisation to carry out immunisation against the virus. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 12 cases of VDPV2.

 “We are sure that this year will be crucial in efforts to eradicate the vaccine-preventable childhood ailment,” said Dr Rana Mohammad Safdar, the coordination of National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio. He added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded three cases in the current year of the countrywide six cases. In 2019, the province recorded 92 polio cases of the 140 nationwide cases.

-MN Report