Our Correspondent
Bahawalpur
A new variant of polio has been found in Bahawalpur as two fresh cases of the disease were recorded there, it is learnt on Thursday. Bahawalpur has already reported cases of polio one and polio three but the new cases discovered were of a new variant called polio two. As many as 717,694 children under the age of five years will be administered anti-polio drops in Bahawalpur during the anti-polio drive starting from January 11 in the district.
This was told in a meeting held at Committee Room of Deputy Commissioner Office recently in the chair of Deputy Commissioner Bahawalpur Muzaffar Khan Sial. Chief Executive Officer District Health Authority Dr Aurangzaib, representative of WHO Dr Sheraz and Focal Person Dr Zaki Ali briefed the meeting that 1,764 teams have been constituted for the campaign which included 1,464 mobile teams, 167 fixed teams and 133 transit teams.
As many as 3,932 polio workers will participate in the drive. The campaign will be monitored by 477 supervisors, 296 Area In-charges, 122 Union Council Monitoring Officers and six tehsil supervisors. January 14 and January 15 are reserved days for left-out children. The deputy commissioner directed to use masks, gloves and hand sanitizers during the campaign in order to avoid the spread of coronavirus. He said that all-out efforts are needed to make the campaign successful and make the district polio-free. In the end, the deputy Commissioner distributed face masks and hand sanitizers among polio workers.
Meanwhile, it is reported that the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Khairpur, Ahmed Ali Qureshi has asked the district health officers to prepare a comprehensive strategy for cent percent coverage of anti-polio vaccination to the children of under five years age during up coming polio eradication campaign.
The health officers should also seek cooperation of the transporters through the representatives of the transporter association so that polio drops could also be administered to children in buses, wagons and vans during the campaign, he said. He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting of the District Polio Eradication Committee at his office here on Thursday.
The Deputy Commissioner also asked the police officers of the district to extend their full cooperation to vaccination teams while administering anti-polio drops at the bus terminals. The district health officers should also pay full attention to the transit points of the districts, he added. The government would not tolerate any negligence in polio eradication campaign and strict action will be taken against those found guilty of negligence, he warned.
