Rawalpindi-A five-day polio drive would commence in the district from December 18.

During the campaign 2,181 polio teams would go door-to-door and administer anti-polio drops to as many as 829,000 children less than five years in all tehsils and union councils of the district, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) District Health Authority said on Sunday.

The CEO said that 2,181 polio teams, 448 area in-charges, 287 health centres and allied hospitals and tehsil headquarter hospitals would participate in the campaign. He said that all possible steps had been taken by the department concerned to make the campaign a success.

The environmental water samples taken from various areas of the city during the last campaign had tested negative for polio virus, a positive step towards the goal of worldwide polio eradication, he said.

The 269 fix centres would also be set up to administer the drops, he said. He urged the citizens, particularly the parents, to come forward and play their role in elimination of the crippling disease from the society. “The parents should cooperate with special teams so that the set target could be achieved”, he added.