Saifullah Sani
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Peshawar—Ringing the alarm bells, provincial metropolis Peshawar and the adjoining tribal areas which are subjected to the terrorist’s attack on the volunteers attached with the Polio eradication campaign every now and then, have been found the hot-spots for the Polio virus forcing the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare Friday Peshawar as the world’s largest reservoir of polio virus. It has also called for urgent action to boost Polio vaccination in the region on war footings.
Not only this but only three countries in the world, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria where the crippling disease remains endemic, 80% cases belongs to Pakistan. Show the statistics of the International body.
“Almost every polio case in 2013 in Pakistan, one of only three countries where the crippling disease remains endemic, could be linked genetically to strains of the virus circulating in Peshawar”. The WHO officials said.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic, but efforts to stamp out the crippling disease have been hit by repeated attacks on health teams. Officials blame the violence and suspicions about the vaccine for a surge in cases.
It may be recalled that the Polio teams administering Polio drops and that mostly comprise of the female health volunteers, have been subjected to the terrorist’s attacks for the last more than a year. Over two dozens of Polio workers including female volunteers have been killed in the country, mostly in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and the tribal areas till date.
The deaths and injuries in the assaults against the Polio workers had not only sent a wave of terror, anxiety and harassment among the Polio staff in the country but had also attracted serious concern of the international community
That had forced the UN to withdraw its staff facilitating Polio vaccination in Pakistan and the field staffers of World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF were directed to suspend their activities with regard to Polio campaign last year.
Though the activities of dispensing the Polio drops were resumed after the government announced security for the Polio workers and deputed policemen with every team dispensing Polio drops in any part of the country, the attacks on the Polio teams in Peshawar and the tribal belt continued unabated and ambush on the Polio teams as well as the security personals attached to them are reported with the regular interval.
The WHO officials said the KPK capital Peshawar and its adjoining tribal districts are particular polio hotspots. Efforts to stamp out the disease have been hampered by opposition from militant groups, who see vaccination campaigns as cover for espionage, as well as long-running rumours about the drops causing infertility.
“With more than 90 percent of the current polio cases in the country genetically linked to Peshawar which is now the largest reservoir of endemic polio virus in the world,” the WHO said in a statement. Polio is also endemic in Afghanistan and Nigeria, but of the three countries only Pakistan saw a rise in cases from 2012 to 2013, said the global health body. Tests conducted by the regional reference laboratory of Polio virus found that 83 out of the 91 polio cases in Pakistan last year were genetically linked to strains in Peshawar, while 12 out of 13 cases reported in Afghanistan were also linked to Peshawar. Says the WHO officials.
The WHO country head in Pakistan revealed that Pakistan saw 35% alarming increase in the Polio cases in 2013 compared to the year 2012. He attributed this with assaults on the workers and volunteers attached with the Polio eradication campaign. While six new Polio cases four in North Waziristan agency and one each in Khyber agency and Karachi were surfaced in Pakistan the WHO Pakistan chief stressed the need to go for taking concrete steps and urgent action to boost Polio vaccination in Peshawar and the tribal belt on war footings if at all we have to eradicate the crippling epidemic from this region all together.
Peshawar world’s ‘largest reservoir’ of polio
Not only this but only three countries in the world, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria where the crippling disease remains endemic, 80% cases belongs to Pakistan. Show the statistics of the International body.
“Almost every polio case in 2013 in Pakistan, one of only three countries where the crippling disease remains endemic, could be linked genetically to strains of the virus circulating in Peshawar”. The WHO officials said.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic, but efforts to stamp out the crippling disease have been hit by repeated attacks on health teams. Officials blame the violence and suspicions about the vaccine for a surge in cases.
It may be recalled that the Polio teams administering Polio drops and that mostly comprise of the female health volunteers, have been subjected to the terrorist’s attacks for the last more than a year. Over two dozens of Polio workers including female volunteers have been killed in the country, mostly in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and the tribal areas till date.
The deaths and injuries in the assaults against the Polio workers had not only sent a wave of terror, anxiety and harassment among the Polio staff in the country but had also attracted serious concern of the international community
That had forced the UN to withdraw its staff facilitating Polio vaccination in Pakistan and the field staffers of World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF were directed to suspend their activities with regard to Polio campaign last year.
Though the activities of dispensing the Polio drops were resumed after the government announced security for the Polio workers and deputed policemen with every team dispensing Polio drops in any part of the country, the attacks on the Polio teams in Peshawar and the tribal belt continued unabated and ambush on the Polio teams as well as the security personals attached to them are reported with the regular interval.
The WHO officials said the KPK capital Peshawar and its adjoining tribal districts are particular polio hotspots. Efforts to stamp out the disease have been hampered by opposition from militant groups, who see vaccination campaigns as cover for espionage, as well as long-running rumours about the drops causing infertility.
“With more than 90 percent of the current polio cases in the country genetically linked to Peshawar which is now the largest reservoir of endemic polio virus in the world,” the WHO said in a statement. Polio is also endemic in Afghanistan and Nigeria, but of the three countries only Pakistan saw a rise in cases from 2012 to 2013, said the global health body. Tests conducted by the regional reference laboratory of Polio virus found that 83 out of the 91 polio cases in Pakistan last year were genetically linked to strains in Peshawar, while 12 out of 13 cases reported in Afghanistan were also linked to Peshawar. Says the WHO officials.
The WHO country head in Pakistan revealed that Pakistan saw 35% alarming increase in the Polio cases in 2013 compared to the year 2012. He attributed this with assaults on the workers and volunteers attached with the Polio eradication campaign. While six new Polio cases four in North Waziristan agency and one each in Khyber agency and Karachi were surfaced in Pakistan the WHO Pakistan chief stressed the need to go for taking concrete steps and urgent action to boost Polio vaccination in Peshawar and the tribal belt on war footings if at all we have to eradicate the crippling epidemic from this region all together.
Peshawar world’s ‘largest reservoir’ of polio
