Quetta, Qila Abdullah and Pishin districts have been declared high-risk zones for the virus, where 28 children were found with the disease. Last year, 26 cases of polio were reported in the entire province.
In the past nine months, 40 cases of polio have been detected, which is said to be the highest in the world. However, the number of cases is now 39 because a three-year-old polio patient died last week after suffering from chest infection.
Around 1.5 million children below the age of five are at risk of being infected by polio in Balochistan, Unicef official Jawahir Habib said.
Spreading to new areas The World Health Organisation has expressed concern over the virus being detected in Baloch dominated districts like Khuzdar, Kohlu, Dera Bugti, Naushki and Kalat, because no cases had been reported in those areas over the last 10 years. The Baloch belt was a polio-free zone in the last decade. We have observed that the virus is spreading to the Baloch dominated districts from Qila Abdul, Pishin and Quetta, said Tahira Kamal, from the WHO.
Obstacles in polio campaigns There is common perception in remote areas in northern Balochistan, which has majority of Pashtuns that anti-polio vaccines can make a person impotent.
Officials from the World Health Organisation, Unicef and Rotary Club said security problem are also a hindrance in the drives. Workers administering the drops were attacked and threatened in Pishin and Quetta.
However, officials added that inaccessibility to certain areas and a lack of awareness is what primarily makes the campaigns ineffective. “Health experts have now decided to engage parliamentarians, religious scholars and other stakeholders, particularly in high risk areas, to encourage more people to get their children vaccinated,” an official said. President of Paramedics Staff Association Balochistan, Samad Raisani, said workers face threats from religious extremists. er for the spread of the virus.
Ref :
