ISLAMABAD - Bannu division has turned into most dangerous region where 11 polio cases have been reported in the current year so far.
In a statement, the National Emergency Operations Centre that overall polio cases have reached 19 in the Bannu region.
The NEOC official while quoting Prime Minister Focal Person on Polio Eradication Programme Babar Bin Atta said that rise in polio cases in Bannu district has become a matter of concern. He said that polio cases in Bannu have turned into an epidemic and parents must cooperate in vaccinating their children.
The PM focal person said that the false propaganda regarding polio vaccination inflicted great harm, urging the parents not to pay heed to the propaganda. He said that anti-polio vaccine helped eliminate the virus from rest of the world.
He urged parents to play their role in making the anti-polio campaign after Eid a success. Earlier, National Institute of Health confirmed 17 cases in May.
Officials at the NIH polio virology laboratory said that the latest case of polio was confirmed in a boy from Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi. Earlier, the 16th case of polio was confirmed in a girl from North Waziristan last week.
According to the latest polio virus map, so far this year, the polio virus has been confirmed in 9 girls and 8 boys, while 9 districts in the country have been affected. Details said that 11 polio virus cases have been confirmed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 3 each in Punjab and Sindh.
The Bannu district has come with the worst situation where so far 5 cases have been confirmed. Three cases have been confirmed from North Waziristan, three from Lahore and two from Karachi. A senior official at NIH linked with polio programme also said that sample site of I-10 in the federal capital was still positive and not cleared from the polio virus.
A day before, Rawalpindi district administration had claimed that the sample site of Rawalpindi was reported negative and was cleared of polio virus after one year.
However, an official at the NIH said that twin cities both fall under the same region where polio existed.
